ILLUSTRATED HISTORY 



OF 



THE PANAMA RAILROAD; 



TOGETHER WITH A 

TRAVELER'S GUIDE AND BUSINESS MAN'S HAND- 
BOOK FOR THE PANAMA RAILROAD AND 
ITS CONNECTIONS 



EUROPE, THE UNITED STATES, THE NORTH AND SOUTH ATLANTIC AND 

PACIFIC COASTS, CHINA, AUSTRALIA, AND JAPAN, BY 

SAIL AND STEAM. 



By F. N. OTIS, M.D. 



SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED. 




NEW YORK: 
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1862. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-two, by 

F. N. Otis, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
New York. 



y-50^9 



PREFACE. 






In preparing the " Hand-book of the Panama Kailroad," 
the endeavor has been to present, 

1. A full and reliable history of the road, from the in- 
ception of the original contract to the present day, and such 
an account of its present condition and business regula- 
tions as would be likely to interest and benefit the travel- 
ing and commercial public. 

2. All necessary information for the shipper and the 
traveler concerning the various lines of steam and sail 
communication connecting with the road. 

3. A brief account of the present condition, commercial 
and other resources, of the countries bordering the Pacific 
coast, and doing business with the United States and Eu- 
rope over the Panama Kailroad, with such information in 
regard to the expenses connected with commercial transac- 
tions in those countries as it has been thought would prove 
serviceable to the mercantile and shipping interests. 

In preparing this work from the most recent authorities 
and reliable sources, the strictest accuracy has been the 
first consideration. The tariffs and commercial regulations 
have been taken from documents published by the United 
States government in 1858. To the following works (not 
credited in place) the Author is indebted for valuable sta- 
tistics : Harper 's Cyclopaedia of Commerce, 1858 ; Appletorfs 
American Cyclopceclia, 1860-1861. To Mr. David Hoad- 
ley, President of the Panama Kailroad, Mr. Allan M'Lane, 
President of the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, Mr. 
George M. Totten, Chief Engineer, Mr. Joseph F. Joy, 
Secretary, and Mr. Alexander J. Center, former Vice- 



.Vlll PREFACE. 

president and Superintendent of the Panama Eailroad, the 
Author is indebted for great and uniform kindness in af- 
fording facilities for procuring reliable data, and for much 
important information ; also to Capt. J. M. Dow, of the 
steam-ship Guatemala (Central American Steam-ship Com- 
pany), Mr. Wm. Nelson, Commercial Agent of the Panama 
Eailroad Company at Panama, Mr. Charles T. Bldwell, 
Agent for the Pacific Steam Navigation Company at Pana- 
ma, Mr. George Petrie, General Manager of the Pacific 
Steam Navigation Company at Callao, Mr. J. W. Hawes, 
of Panama, and Capt. J. H. Wlndle, of Tarrytown, New 
York (formerly in the United States Mail Steam-ship Com- 
pany's service), the Author is indebted for valuable favors. 

F. N. Otis. 

Neio York, July 15, 1861. 



BUSINESS INDEX. 



Agents and Offices of steamers, etc., 146, 148, 149, 154, 155, 157, 159, 160, 
168, 173, 174, 175, 176, 178. (See the different Lines.) 

Aspinivall, 33, 73 ; Harbor regulations, 145. 

Atlantic and Pacific Steamship Co., 147; Rates of passage and freight, 147; 
Through passage, 148. 

Bolivia, 244 ; Productions, 245 ; Port, 245 ; Tariff, 246. 

California, 263 ; Shipments of treasure, 264 ; Exports and imports, 266 : 

Passengers, 267. 
Central America, Republics of, 189-216 ; Ports of entry in, 189. 
Central American S. S. Line (Panama R. R.), 151; Rates of passage and 

freight from Aspinwall and Panama, 151 ; from New York, 153. 
Chili, 247 ; Government, 247 ; Productions, 248 ; Exports, 249 ; Climate, 

249 ; Population, 249 ; Cities and towns, 250 ; Ports, 252. Valparaiso, 

252 ; Imports, 254 ; Tariff, 255. 
Columbia, British. See " Oregon." 
Connections of the Panama R. R., 55, 145 ; Map of, 6. 
Costa Rica, 189 ; Climate and productions, 191 ; Harbor regulations, 193. 

Ecuador, 229 ; Climate and productions, 230 ; Population, 231 ; Ports and 

cities, 232. 
Express System, 271; Wells, Fargo, & Co., 271 ; Wheatley, Starr, & Co., 275. 

Freight, Rates of: Panama R. R., 139 ; New York to Aspinwall, 147; New 
York to San Francisco, 148 ; Panama to San Francisco and Pacific 
ports, 149; San Francisco and Oregon, etc., 151; San Francisco and 
Mexican ports, 183 ; Panama to ports in Central America, 151 ; Ports 
in Central America to South America, 152 ; New York to Central 
America, 153 ; Central America to Liverpool, 153 ; Panama to Valpa- 
raiso, etc., 154; New York to Valparaiso, etc., 157; Between South 
American ports, 159 ; Southampton and the West Indies, 165-172 ; 
Southampton to Aspinwall, San Francisco, etc., 172 ; England and the 
Pacific ports, 172; West Indies to Pacific ports, 173; South Pacific 
ports to Southampton, 175; Central America to Southampton, 176; 
Liverpool and Central America, and South Pacific, 177, 178 ; New York 
to South American Pacific ports, 180 ; New York to Central American 
ports, 181 ; Aspinwall to New York, by sail, 181. 

Guatemala, 206 ; Climate and topography, 207 ; Political divisions, 209 ; In- 
habitants, 210 ; Ports, 211 ; Harbor regulations, 212 ; Tariff, 213. 

Harbor Regulations : Panama, 143 ; Aspinwall, 145 ; Punta Arenas, 193 ; 
San Salvador, 205 ; Guatemala, 212 ; Carthagena, 223 ; New Granada, 
226 ; Guayaquil, 233 ; Peru, 241 ; Bolivia, 245 ; Chili, 256 ; Mexico, 
260. 

Eolladay & Flint's S. S. Lines, 150, 151, and 182-185 ; Offices and Agents, 
182, 185; Oregon and California line, 150; Rates of freight and pas- 
sage from San Francisco to Oregon, 151; Pacific Mexican line, 182; 
Dates of Sailing, 182 ; Rates for passengers and freight, 183, 184 ; Re- 
mittance of Specie, 184; General regulations, 185. 
A* 



X BUSINESS INDEX. 

Holt's Steamers, from Liverpool to Aspinwall, 176-178. 
Honduras, 215. 

Liverpool and West India S. S. Line (Hok's), 176 ; Rates of freight, 177, 178. 

Mexico, 257 ; Pacific ports, 258 ; Course of commerce, 259 ; Passenger reg- 
ulations, 260 ; Currency, 261. 

New Granada, 217 ; Climate and productions, 218 ; Towns and roads, 220 ; 
Rivers and ports, 221 ; Tides at Aspinwall and Panama — a free port, 
221 ; Port regulations, 226 ; Tariff, 226. 

Nicaragua, 196 ; Population and government, 197 ; Ciimate and produc- 
tions, 198. 

Offices and Agents of Steamers, etc. See "Agents." 
Oregon, 268 ; Productions, 268 ; Ports, 269. 

Pacific Mail S. S. Co., 148 ; Rates of freight and passage, 148 ; Officers of, 
149 ; History of, 150. 

Pacific Steam Navigation Co., 154-159; Trips, 154; Rates of passage, 155, 
156; Rates of freight, 156; Through rates of freight, 157; Line between 
South American ports, 157. 

Panama, 128, 223 ; Harbor regulations, 145 ; Port of, 223; Free port, 224. 

Panama Railroad, Map of, 5 ; History of, 15-82 ; Trip over, 82-134 ; Con- 
nections of, 52 ; Merchandise transported over, 57 ; Financial state- 
ments, 61-71 ; Regulations of, 139-146 ; Tariff for passengers and 
freight, 139; Sailing Vessels between New York and Aspinwall, 179; 
Officers and Directors, 186. 

Passage, Rates of : Panama R. R., 139 ; New York to Aspinwall, 147 ; New 
York to San Francisco, 148 ; Panama to San Francisco, 149 ; San Fran- 
cisco and Oregon, etc., 151 ; Panama to ports of Central America, 151 ; 
Panama to South American ports, 155 ; Between South American ports, 
159 ; Southampton and the West Indies, 162 ; Between West India 
ports, 164 ; Between San Francisco and Mexican ports, 183. 

Peru, 235 ; Government and population, 236 ; Lima, 237 ; Ports, 238 ; Cal- 
lao, 239 ; Harbor regulations, 241 ; Currency, 242 ; Tariff, 242. 

Port Charges. See " Harbor Regulations." 

Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., 160-176; Agents and ships, 160; Arrivals 
and departures, 161; Rates of fare from Southampton, 162; Interco- 
lonial fares, 164 ; Passenger regulations, 163, 165 ; Specie and parcels, 
167 ; Rates of freight, 169-175. 

Sailing Vessels between New York and Aspinwall (Panama R. R. Co.) 179 ; 
Rates of freight, 180, 181. 

San Salvador, 201 ; Government and population, 201 ; Climate and produc- 
tions, 203 ; Tariff, 204 ; Commercial regulations, 205. 

South America, Republics of, 217, 256. 

Specie, Remittance of to United States and Europe, 170, 172, 173, 174, 184. 

Tariffs and Duties: Costa Rica, 194 ; San Salvador, 204 ; Guatemala, 213 ; 

New Granada, 226 ; Ecuador, 234 ; Peru, 242 ; Bolivia, 246 ; Chili, 

225 ; Mexico, 260. 
Tariffs for Passengers and Freight. See "Passage" and "Freight." 
Tides, at Aspinwall and Panama, 224. 

Vancouver's Island. See "Oregon." 

Washing ton Territory. See" Oregon . ' ' 
Wells, Fargo, 8p Co., 271. 
Wheatley, Starr, 8f Co., 275, 276. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGK 

HISTORY OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD 15-56 

APPENDIX A. — Merchandise and Treasure passing over 

the Road 57-58 

APPENDIX B. — Financial Statements of the Road, 1856- 

1861 61-71 

TRAVELERS' GUIDE 72-138 

APPENDIX C.— Regulations of the Panama Railroad 139-146 

APPENDIX D. — Steam and Sail Lines connecting with the 
Panama Railroad 147-181 

REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA 189-214 

REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA 217-256 

MEXICO 257-261 

CALIFORNIA, OREGON, ETC 263-271 

EXPRESS BUSINESS 271-276 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



on the road Frontispiece. 

MAP THE LINE OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD Page 5 

MAP — CONNECTIONS OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD 6 

WESTERN SUBURB OF PANAMA • ••• 14 

RUNNING THE LINES - 20 

PARAISO 23 

the first shanty . 30 

ancient bridge, old panama..... 37 

the cabildo, panama 43 

view from the ramparts, panama 47 

northeastern rampart, panama - 53 

southeastern rampart, panama. 59 

view of aspinwall 74 

departure for panama 83 

mount hope 88 

gatun station 94 

stephens's tree 99 

bujio soldado . 102 

Stephens's cottage 105 

bread-fruit, star-apple, mango, avocado pear 107 

BARBACOAS BRIDGE Ill 

SAN PABLO STATION 114 

NATIVE HUT AT MATACHIN 116 

MAMEI STATION 117 

MONUMENT HILL 119 

BASALTIC CLIFF 123 

PARAISO STATION 126 

TERMINUS AT PANAMA 129 

CITY OF PANAMA 132 

CATHEDRAL AT PANAMA 135 

RUINS OF CHURCH OF SAN DOMINGO 138 

TOWER OF SAN JEROME 187 

NATIVE BONGO, PANAMA 199 




WESTERN SUBUEB (SANTA ANA) OF PANAMA. 



HANDBOOK 

OP 

THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 



In ancient or in modern times there has, perhaps, been 
no one work which in a few brief years has accomplished 
so much, and which promises for the future so great benefit 
to the commercial interests of the world, as the present rail- 
way thoroughfare between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans 
at the Isthmus of Panama. A glance at its geographical 
position can not fail to discover to the most casual observer 
that, situated as it is midway between the northern and 
southern, and alike between the eastern and western hemi- 
spheres, it forms a natural culminating point for the great 
commercial travel of the globe. Wise men in every en- 
lightened nation had seen this for centuries, and had urged 
the importance of free interoceanic communication at this 
point ; but its lofty and rugged mountain ranges, its deep 
and pestiferous morasses, seemed almost equally to defy the 
skill of the engineer and the physical endurance of the la- 
borer. Even the possibility of opening such a communica- 
tion by the government exercising jurisdiction over that 
portion of the isthmus through which it should pass had 
never been seriously entertained; but New Granada had 
long and earnestly challenged the more powerful nations 
of the world to break down this barrier to commerce and 
civilization, and reap the richest benefits which might re- 
sult therefrom. England had looked toward the project 
wkh longing eyes, but quailed before the magnitude of the 



16 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

labor. France had done more — surveyed and entered into 
a contract to .establish it ; but too many millions were found 
necessary for its completion, and it was lost by default. 

Events at last occurred which turned the attention of the 
American people to this transit, viz., the settlement of the 
northwestern boundary, by which we came into possession 
of Oregon, and the war with Mexico, which added Califor- 
nia to our possessions. But, while the accession of these 
territories was of the highest importance to us in a national 
point of view, their distance rendered them almost inacces- 
sible to the class of emigrants who usually settle our new 
domains, as well as inconvenient to the proper administra- 
tion of law and government. Still, urged on by that pio- 
neering spirit which seems inherent in the blood of the 
American, and invited by the prolific soil and genial cli- 
mate of these distant possessions, and a prospect of a new 
and enlarged field for commercial pursuits, large numbers 
of our people migrated thither around Cape Horn. Con- 
gress, however, in 1848, in order to render these countries 
more accessible, authorized contracts to be entered into for 
the establishment of two mail lines of steam-ships, the one 
from New York and New Orleans to Chagres, and the other 
to connect with this by the Isthmus of Panama, from Pan- 
ama to California and Oregon. The inducements to invest 
in these projects were not sufficient to attract the favorable 
attention of capitalists, and the contracts were taken by par- 
ties without means, who offered them for sale, and for a long 
time without success. 

Men were at last found bold enough to venture upon the 
enterprise. Mr. William H. Aspinwall secured the line on 
the Pacific side, and George Law that on the Atlantic. In 
the Atlantic contract there was comparatively little risk, 
and a promise of almost immediate remuneration, as it con- 
nected with the cities of Savannah and New Orleans, and 
terminated at the portals of the Pacific Ocean. But the 



PANAMA RAILROAD. IT 

Pacific contract was looked upon by the generality of busi- 
ness men as a certain sequestration of a large amount of 
property for an indefinite time, with a faint prospect of 
profit ; and the wonder seemed to be that so sound a man 
as Mr. Aspinwall should have engaged in it. But it soon 
became evident that he expected no great profit from the 
steam-ship line per se; but that, with those enlarged and 
far-reaching views for which he is so justly noted, this line 
was only a part of the great plan which he. had conceived, 
the remainder being embraced in the bold design of a rail- 
road across the Isthmus of Panama ; and at this time he, 
with Mr. Henry Chauncey and Mr. John L. Stephens, en- 
tered into a contract with the government of New Granada 
for the construction of that work. Mr. Chauncey, like Mr. 
Aspinwall, was a large-minded and public-spirited capital- 
ist, whose integrity and straightforwardness were undoubt- 
ed. Mr. Stephens possessed an experience in the country 
through which the road was to pass, and a knowledge of 
its geography and its inhabitants, gained by practical study 
and observation. These three gentlemen were associated 
together for the prosecution of this great enterprise, and 
shortly after, Mr. Stephens, accompanied by Mr. J. L. Bald- 
win, a skillful and experienced engineer, made an explora- 
tion of the route, and decided upon its entire feasibility, dis- 
sipating the fears entertained by many that no line could 
be established without such heavy grades as would inter- 
fere materially with the paying character of the under- 
taking by the discovery of a summit gap no more than 
three hundred feet above the ocean level. 

A formal contract was then entered into with the gov- 
ernment of New Granada, on the most favorable terms, for 
the exclusive privilege of constructing a railroad across the 
Isthmus of Panama. Among the most important conces- 
sions by the terms of this contract was one guaranteeing 
that all public lands lying on the line of the road were to 



18 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

be used gratuitously by the Company ; also a gift of 250,000 
acres of land, to be selected by the grantees from any pub- 
lic lands on the Isthmus. Two ports, one on the Atlantic 
and the other on the Pacific (which were to be the termini 
of the road), were to be free ports ; and the privilege was 
granted of establishing such tolls as the Company might 
think proper. The contract was to continue in force for 
forty -nine years, subject to the right of New Granada to 
take possession of the road at the expiration of twenty years 
after its completion, on payment of five millions of dollars ; 
at the expiration of thirty years, on payment of four mil- 
lions ; and at the expiration of forty years, on payment of 
two millions. Three per cent, was to be paid to the New 
G-ranadian government upon all dividends declared. The 
entire work was to be completed within eight years, and a 
sum of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars was to be 
deposited at its commencement, as security for the fulfill- 
ment of the contract, but to be refunded, with interest, on 
the completion of the road within the given time. 

Up to this period calculations for the ultimate success of 
the undertaking were based upon the advantages it would 
afford in shortening, by many thousand miles, not only the 
route to California and Oregon, but to China, Australia, and 
the East Indies, and in the development of the rich, but 
then almost inaccessible countries bordering the whole Pa- 
cific coast. At this time, however (the latter part of 1848), 
the discovery of gold in California, with its accompanying 
tide of emigration across the Isthmus of Panama, changed 
the prospects of this projected road; and, from an enter- 
prise which looked far into the future for its rewards, it be- 
came one promising immediate returns from the capital and 
labor invested, and in which the people, as well as the gov- 
ernment of the United States, must be immediately and 
deeply interested. A charter was now granted by the Leg- 
islature of the State of New York for the formation of a 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 21 

stock company, under which one million dollars of stock 
was taken — the original grantees having previously trans- 
ferred their contract into the hands of this company. A 
large and experienced party of engineers, under the com- 
mand of Colonel G. W. Hughes, of the United States Topo- 
graphical Corps, were sent down, in the early part of 1849, 
to survey and locate the line of the road. The result of 
their work not only confirmed the previous reconnoissance 
in regard to the entire practicability of the railroad, but an- 
other summit gap was discovered by Mr. J. L. Baldwin, 
thirty -seven feet lower than that previously established by 
him, and a line was run from ocean to ocean not exceeding- 
fifty miles in length. The Pacific terminus of the road was 
located at the city of Panama, on Panama Bay, and the At- 
lantic terminus at Navy Bay, on the Atlantic shore. 

The character and geographical position of the country 
through which the line of the road had been carried was 
such as might well have made the hardiest projectors shrink 
from attempting its construction. The first thirteen miles, 
beginning at Navy Bay, was through a deep morass, cov- 
ered with the densest jungle, reeking with malaria, and 
abounding with almost every species of wild beasts, noxious 
reptiles, and venomous insects known in the tropics. Far- 
ther on, though some of the land was so fair and beautiful 
that the natives called it Paraiso ) the greater part of the line 
was through a rugged country, along steep hill-sides, over 
wild chasms, spanning turbulent rivers and furious mount- 
ain torrents, until the summit-ridge was surmounted, when 
it descended abruptly to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. 

Situated between the parallels of 8° and 9° north of the 
equator, a sultry tropical heat prevailed throughout the 
year, nearly half of which time the country was deluged 
with rains that, if they would not seriously damage the 
works, were certain to impede their progress, and add great- 
ly to the arduous character of the undertaking. The whole 



22 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

isthmus, though covered with the most luxuriant vegetative 
growth, possessed little or no timber sufficiently durable to 
be of use in the construction of a permanent work. The 
native population, composed of a mongrel race of Spaniards, 
Indians, and Negroes, were too indolent and unaccustomed 
to labor to be depended on to any great extent. The re- 
sources of the country were entirely inadequate for the sup- 
port of laborers. Men, materials, and provisions were to be 
transported thousands of miles. And yet, despite all these 
obstacles, the dim glimpses of which had, at a previous time, 
caused European capitalists to shrink back with fear, our 
bold operators at once, and earnestly, pushed forward this 
stupendous enterprise. 

In the early part of 1849 a contract was entered into with 
Messrs. George M. Totten and John C. Trautwine for the 
construction of the road. The services of these gentlemen 
had been solicited by the Company, not only on account of 
their previously established reputation as skillful and suc- 
cessful engineers, but from having only a short time before 
been engaged upon a work of considerable magnitude in a 
neighboring province — the " Canal del Dique," connecting 
the Magdalena Eiver with the Caribbean Sea at Carthagena: 
they had, consequently, a large experience in the charac- 
ter and resources of the country, and the conditions neces- 
sary to the success of such a project. The contractors at 
once proceeded to the Isthmus with a large force, and com- 
menced the final location of the road. 

Basing their operations upon the reconnoisance of Colonel 
Hughes and party, a native town called Grorgona, on the 
Chagres River, about thirty miles from the Atlantic, was 
selected as a point for the commencement of the work. 
This place was chosen on account of the facilities it afford- 
ed for communication with the Atlantic by the River Cha- 
gres (which was supposed to be navigable to this point for 
vessels of light draught), by which men, materials, and stores 



PANAMA RAILKOAD. 25 

could be transported to a central point on the proposed 
road ; and, on the completion of the Pacific section, traffic 
between the two oceans could at once be established, while 
the Atlantic section might be completed at the leisure or 
convenience of the Company. To this end, two steam-boats 
of very light draught were dispatched to Chagres for the 
navigation of the river. It was soon ascertained, however, 
that it was impossible to make use of these boats (drawing 
only from fourteen to eighteen, inches of water), and that 
even the native bongoes and canoes were capable of the 
service only by great labor and exposure. In addition to 
this, the rush of California travel, which was then directed 
through this river as far as Gorgona, had so raised the hire 
of the native boatmen that the expense of river transporta- 
tion was enormously increased. It was therefore determ- 
ined to change the point of beginning to the Atlantic ter- 
minus of the road. 

Mr. Trautwine, after a careful survey of the whole line 
of coast from the mouth of the Chagres to the harbor of 
Porto Bello, had located this terminus at the island of Man- 
zanilla, on the eastern shore of the Bay of Limon, or Navy 
Bay, where the city of Aspinwall now stands. It was also 
found that, instead of a secluded and rarely -visited region, 
where laborers and materials such as the country afforded 
were comparatively inexpensive, as was the case when the 
contract was framed, and had been time out of mind, it was 
now swarming with emigrants from all parts of the globe 
en route for the land of gold. The conditions under which 
the contract was entered into were changed, the whole 
morale of the country had assumed an entirely different as- 
pect, and it was evidently impossible to continue the work 
under the arrangement agreed upon. A fair representation 
of these things being made to the Company by Messrs. Tot- 
ten and Trautwine, they were released from their obliga- 
tions as contractors, and retained as engineers, the Com- 

B 



26 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

pany having determined to take charge of the construction 
themselves. 

The plan of commencing at the Atlantic terminus being 
approved, Colonel Totten left for Carthagena to make ar- 
rangements for procuring an increased supply of laborers. 
Mr. Trautwine, in company with Mr. Baldwin, as chief as- 
sistant engineer, then proceeded to Manzanilla Island with 
a small party, and commenced clearing in the month of 
May, 1850. This island, cut off from the main land by a 
narrow frith, contained an area of a little more than one 
square mile. It was a virgin swamp, covered with a dense 
growth of the tortuous, water-loving mangrove, and inter- 
laced with huge vines and thorny shrubs, defying entrance 
even to the wild beasts common to the country. In the 
black, slimy mud of its surface alligators and other reptiles 
abounded ; while the air was laden with pestilential vapors, 
and swarming with sand-flies and musquitoes. These last 
proved so annoying to the laborers that, unless their faces 
were protected by gauze veils, no work could be done, even 
at midday. Eesidence on the island was impossible. The 
party had their quarters in an old brig which brought down 
materials for building, tools, provisions, etc., and was an- 
chored in the bay. 

Thus situated, with a mere handful of native assistants 
— most of the original forty or fifty having previously de- 
serted on account of the higher wages and easier life prom- 
ised them by the Transit — Messrs. Trautwine and Baldwin 
struck the first blow upon this great work. No imposing 
ceremony inaugurated the " breaking ground." Two Amer- 
ican citizens, leaping, axe in hand, from a native canoe upon 
a wild and desolate island, their retinue consisting of half 
a dozen Indians, who clear the path with rude knives, strike 
their glittering axes into the nearest tree ; the rapid blows 
reverberate from shore to shore, and the stately cocoa 
crashes upon the beach. Thus unostentatiously was an- 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 27 

nounced the commencement of a railway, which, from the 
interests and difficulties involved, might well be looked 
upon as one of the grandest and boldest enterprises ever 
attempted. 

Work upon the island was now fairly commenced. A 
portion was cleared, and a temporary store-house erected 
from the materials on board the brig. On the 1st of June 
Colonel Totten arrived from Carthagena with forty natives 
of that province as laborers for the work : these were de- 
scendants of the old Spanish slaves, a peaceable and indus- 
trious race, who, from having been emploj^ed on the works 
in Carthagena for several years, proved a valuable accession 
to their forces. Mr. T. was accompanied by Mr. John L. Ste- 
phens, the president of the Company, who was on his re- 
turn from Bogota, where he had been to obtain some im- 
portant revisions in the contract. With their increased 
corps the clearing progressed rapidty ; but the rainy season 
soon setting in, the discomforts to which they were subject- 
ed were very great. The island was still uninhabitable, 
and the whole party were forced to live on board the brig, 
which was crowded to its utmost capacity. Here they were 
by no means exempt from the causes which deterred them 
from living on shore, for below decks the vessel was alive 
with musquitoes and sand-flies, which were a source of such 
annoyance and suffering that almost all preferred to sleep 
upon the deck, exposed to the drenching rains, rather than 
endure their attacks. In addition to this, most of their 
number were kept nauseated by the ceaseless motion of the 
vessel. Labor and malarious influences during the day, 
exposure and unrest at night, soon told upon their health, 
and in a short time more than half the party were attacked 
with malarious fevers. Having neither a physician nor any 
comfortable place of rest, their sufferings were severe. At 
this time the hull of a condemned steam-boat — the Telegraph 
— lying at Chagres, was purchased, and sent down as a resi- 



28 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

dence. This proved a vast improvement upon the accom- 
modations afforded by the brig, but still annoyance from 
the insects was at times almost insupportable. 

In the latter part of June Mr. Totten again left for Car- 
thagena to procure more men, and Messrs. Stephens and 
Trautwine returned to New York to digest farther plans 
of procedure. The work was left in charge of Mr. Baldwin, 
who continued the clearing with his crippled forces until 
the latter part of the following month, when Mr. Totten re- 
turned with fifty more laborers. Surveys of the island and 
adjacent country were now pushed vigorously onward. It 
was in the depth of the rainy season, and the working par- 
ties, in addition to being constantly drenched from above, 
were forced to wade in from two to four feet of mud and 
water, over the mangrove stumps and tangled vines of the 
imperfect openings cut by the natives, who, with their ma- 
chetas, preceded them to clear the way. Then, at night, 
saturated and exhausted, they dragged themselves back to 
their quarters in the Telegraph, to toss until morning among 
the pitiless insects. Numbers were daily taken down with 
fever ; and, notwithstanding that the whole working party 
was changed weekly, large accessions were constantly need- 
ed to keep up the required force. The works were altern- 
ately in charge of Messrs. Totten and Baldwin, one attend- 
ing to the duty while the other recuperated from his last 
attack of fever. In the month of July Mr. Trautwine re- 
turned with a surgeon — Dr. Totten, a brother of the colonel 
— and several assistant engineers. About fifty Irishmen 
also arrived soon after from New Orleans. 

The line had already been located for two and a half 
miles, and decided upon for two miles farther. It was so 
laid out as to strike a range of small hills half a league from 
the terminus, when it again stretched into the deep morass. 
The distance now required to be traversed from the work 
to the terminus was so great, and attended with so much 



PA \ AM A RAILROAD. 31 

fatigue and loss of time, that it was determined to erect a 
shanty for Mr. Baldwin and party in the swamp. The lum- 
ber for this was dragged on the backs of the men for more 
than three miles. Here was erected the first dwelling- 
house, built of rude boards, high upon the stumps of trees, 
to raise it above the waters of the swamp ; and in the heart 
of this dank, howling wilderness our hardy pioneers took 
up their abode. 

Large parties of mechanics and laborers were now con- 
stantly arriving from Jamaica, Carthagena, and the United 
States, so that the quarters on board the hulk were no lon- 
ger adequate to house them. The insects had greatly di- 
minished in numbers as the clearing progressed, and shan- 
ties were erected on the high ground before alluded to for 
the accommodation of the laborers. In August, 1850, the 
work of construction was commenced at this place. An- 
other station was also established eight miles distant, oppo- 
site to the native town of Gatun, on the bank of the Chagres 
Eiver, which was navigable to this point ; and two of the 
Company's vessels arriving, laden with machinery, building 
material, and stores, they were debarked here, and the work 
of piling and grading was carried on from this station to- 
ward the terminus. The number of men now employed on 
both stations was between three and four hundred, among 
whom were many mechanics. The construction and sur- 
veys for a time progressed with vigor, and comfortable 
dwellings and hospitals were erected ; but sickness, caused 
by exposure to the incessant rains, working waist-deep in 
the water, and in an atmosphere saturated with malarious 
poison, soon made such sad inroads among them that, in a 
few weeks, more than half their number were on the hos- 
pital records, and, either frightened by the fevers or seduced 
by higher wages offered on the California Transit, so many 
of the remnant deserted that the work came to a pause. 
Here the bravest might well have faltered, and even turned 



oZ HAND-BOOK OF THE 

back from so dark a prospect as was then presented to the 
leaders of this forlorn hope ; but they were men whom per- 
sonal perils and privations could not daunt, whose energy 
and determination toil and suffering could not vanquish. 
Even in this apparent cessation of labor they were not idle ; 
but, pushing off into the neighboring islands and provinces, 
they collected recruits in such numbers that but a few weeks 
had passed before the work was again forced onward. Col- 
onel Totten now assumed the direction of the work, and 
Mr. Center, the vice-president of the Company, repaired to 
the Isthmus to co-operate with him in the rapid advance- 
ment of the enterprise, so that by December over a thou- 
sand laborers were employed. With the commencement 
of the dry season the sickliness abated, the hospitals were 
soon cleared, and by April, 1851, a large portion of the road 
between the terminus and Gratun was completed. The line 
had been located to Barbacoas, sixteen miles farther on, 
while Mr. J. C. Campbell, chief assistant engineer, was act- 
ively employed in extending the location toward Panama, 
and work had been commenced at several intervening 
points. 

Docks had been constructed at Navy Bay, and vessels 
were almost daily arriving from Jamaica and Carthagena 
with laborers, and from New York with stores, machinery, 
and materials for the road. On the first day of October, 
1851, a train of working cars, drawn by a locomotive, passed 
over the road as £ar as Gratun. In the following month two 
large steam-ships, the Georgia and Philadelphia, arrived at 
the open roadstead of Chagres with passengers from the 
United States en route for California via the Chagres Eiver 
Transit ; but the weather was so tempestuous that, after sev- 
. eral lives had been lost in attempting to effect a landing, 
they were forced to take refuge in the harbor of Navy Bay. 
It was then proposed that, instead of waiting for fair weather 
m order to return to Chagres, the passengers should be 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 33 

transported over the railroad to Gatun, from whence they 
could proceed up the river in bongoes as usual. There was 
not yet a single passenger car on the road : an accident like 
the present had never been included in the calculations of 
the Company. Every objection was, however, soon over- 
ruled by the anxious emigrants, over one thousand in num- 
ber, who were then disembarked and safely transported on 
a train of working cars to the Kio Chagres at Gatun. 

At about this time the affairs of the Company in New 
York looked very dark and unpromising. The first sub- 
scription of one million dollars of stock was expended, and 
the shares had gone down to a low figure. The directors 
were obliged to keep the work moving, at an enormous ex- 
pense, on their own individual credit. Never since the com- 
mencement of the undertaking had its supporters been more 
disheartened; but on the return of the Georgia to New 
York, carrying news that the California passengers had 
landed at Navy Bay instead of Chagres, and had traveled 
over a portion of the Panama Kail way, its friends were in- 
spired with renewed hope, the value of its stock was en- 
hanced, and the steadfast upholders of the work were re- 
lieved from the doubts and anxieties that had well-nigh 
overwhelmed them. 

Up to this time the settlement around the terminus at 
Navy Bay had been without a distinctive name : it was 
now proposed by Mr. Stephens, the president of the Com- 
pany, that it should commemorate the services of one of the 
originators and unswerving friends of the road. On the 
2d of February ^ 1852 7 it was formally inaugurated as a city, 
and named Aspixwall. The works during this season 
progressed with rapidity, for great numbers of laborers were 
constantly arriving, and the mail-steamers, which now came 
regularly to Navy Bay, as regularly, on their return, car- 
ried away the sick and disabled. By March the road was 
completed to a station on the Eio Chagres called Bujio Sol- 

B 2 



34 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

dado, eight miles beyond Gratun, and passenger trains ran 
in connection with every steamer ; by the 6th of July it was 
pushed on to Barbacoas, at which point the course of the 
road was intersected by the Chagres Kiver, making a total 
distance from the city of Aspinwall of twenty -three miles. 

Thus far the work had cost much more than was antici- 
pated. In the hope of constructing the remainder more 
economically, it was decided by the Board of Directors to 
complete the road from Barbacoas to Panama by contract. 
Accordingly, an agreement was entered into with Minor C. 
Story, as principal, to complete the work. The death of 
the lamented president of the Company, Mr. John L, Ste- 
phens, took place at this time. From the very inception of 
the original contract he had devoted to the enterprise his 
active and intelligent mind with a zeal that knew no fal- 
tering. Much of his time had been spent amid the dangers 
and hardships of the wilderness through which it was pro- 
jected, and his loss was deeply deplored by the Company. 
Mr. William C. Young was appointed his successor. 

The work under the contract for construction had been 
commenced by the attempted erection of a bridge across the 
Chagres Eiver at Barbacoas. The river at this point was 
about three hundred feet in width, flowing through a deep 
and rocky channel, and subject to sudden and resistless 
freshets, often rising forty feet in a single night : the bridge 
was nearly completed when one span was swept away. 
Work was again commenced upon it, as well as upon sev- 
eral sections of the road between this point and the Pacific 
terminus. At times there was a force of several hundred 
men employed ; but they were mostly Irish, unable to en- 
dure the effects of the climate, and, being also badly cared 
for, their numbers were soon so thinned by sickness and 
death that the contractor found himself unable to accom- 
plish any part of the contract for the price agreed upon. 
The work faltered, and at last stopped almost entirely ; so 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 35 

that when a year had expired not only was the bridge still 
unfinished, but not a tenth part of the work under the con- 
tract was completed, and the Company were obliged again 
to take the enterprise into their own hands, and carry it on 
by the same system pursued, before the unfortunate con- 
tract was entered into. Mr. Young now resigned the pres- 
idency, and Mr. David Hoadley (the present president) was 
appointed his successor — a gentleman who deservedly en- 
joys the respect and confidence not alone of the Company 
which he represents, but also of the entire commercial com- 
munity. 

Valuable time had been lost from the delay occasioned 
by the non-fulfillment of the late contract. Not disheart- 
ened, however, the Company now redoubled their exer- 
tions, determined, if possible, to retrieve the error. Their 
working force was increased as rapidly as possible, drawing 
laborers from almost every quarter of the globe. Irishmen 
were imported from Ireland, Coolies from Hindostan, Chi- 
namen from China. English, French, Germans, and Aus- 
trians, amounting in all to more than seven thousand men, 
were thus gathered in, appropriately as it were, to construct 
this highway for all nations. It was now anticipated that, 
with the enormous forces employed, the time required for 
the completion of the entire work would be in a ratio pro- 
portionate to the numerical increase of laborers, all of whom 
were supposed to be hardy, able-bodied men. But it was 
soon found that many of these people, from their previous 
habits and modes of life, were little adapted to the work 
for which they were engaged. / The Chinamen, one thou- 
sand in number, had been brought to the Isthmus by the 
Company, and every possible care taken which could con- 
duce to their health and comfort. Their hill-rice, their tea, 
and opium, in sufficient quantity to last for several months, 
had been imported with them — they were carefully housed 
and attended to — and it was expected that they would prove 



8(3 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

efficient and valuable men. But they had been engaged 
upon the work scarcely a month before almost the entire 
body became affected with a melancholic, suicidal tendency, 
and scores of them ended their unhappy existence by their 
own hands. Disease broke out among them, and raged so 
fiercely that in a few weeks scarcely two hundred remained. ) 
The freshly-imported Irishmen and Frenchmen also suffer- 
ed severely, and there was found no other resource but to 
reship them as soon as possible, and replenish from the 
neighboring provinces and Jamaica, the natives of which 
(with the exception of the Northmen of America) were 
found best able to resist the influences of the climate. Not- 
withstanding these discouragements, and many others too 
numerous to be narrated within the compass of this brief 
sketch, the work continued to advance, so that by January, 
1854, the summit-ridge was reached, distant from the At- 
lantic terminus thirty-seven miles, and eleven miles from 
the city of Panama. 

Simultaneously with the operations toward the Pacific, a 
large force was established at Panama, under the superin- 
tendence of Mr. J. Young, one of the Company's most ef- 
ficient and energetic officers, and the road was pushed rapid- 
ly onward, over the plains of Panama, through the swamps 
of Corrisal and Correndeu, and up the valley of the Eio 
Grande, to meet the advancing work from the Atlantic 
side ; and on the 27th day of January, 1855, at midnight, 
in darkness and rain, the last rail was laid, and on the fol- 
lowing day a locomotive passed from ocean to ocean. 

The entire length of the road was 47 miles 3.020 feet, 
with a maximum grade of sixty feet to the mile. The sum- 
mit grade was 258^nr feet above the assumed grade at the 
Atlantic, and 242-jV above the assumed grade at the Pacific 
terminus, being 263^^ feet above the mean tide of the At- 
lantic Ocean, and the summit-ridge two hundred and eighty- 
seven feet above the same level. Commencing at the city 



" 







ANCIEsT BRIDGE AT OLD PANAMA. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 39 

of Aspinwall, on Limon or Navy Bay, the Atlantic terminus 
of the road, latitude 9° 21/ 23" K and longitude 79° 53' 
52" W., the road skirted the western shore of the island of 
Manzanilla for about three quarters of a mile, then bent 
to the east, and crossed the channel which separates the 
island from the main land at a point nearly central of the 
breadth of the island, thence around the southern and 
eastern shore of Navy Bay until it reached the small river 
Mindee, cutting off a bend of this river about one thousand 
feet from its mouth ; then it stretched across the peninsula 
formed by this bay and the Biver Chagres up to the mouth 
of the Biver Obispo, one of its branches, seldom, however, 
following the tortuous course of that stream, but cutting 
across its bends, and touching it only at intervals of two or 
three miles. The line continued upon the right or easterly 
bank of the Chagres as far as Barbacoas (twenty-five miles 
from Aspinwall), where it crossed that river by a wooden 
bridge six hundred and twenty -five feet in length ; from 
thence it followed the left bank of the Chagres to the mouth 
of the Obispo Biver, thirty-one miles from the Atlantic ter- 
minus, leaving the native town of Gorgona on the left. Aft- 
er striking the Obispo, the line followed the valley of this 
stream to its head in the summit-ridge, which it reached 37-| 
miles from the Atlantic and 10i miles from the Bacific ter- 
minus. The lower part of the valley of the Obispo, being 
crooked and bound in by precipitous hills, compelled the 
line to cross the stream twice within the first mile, when it 
passed the summit-ridge by a cut one fourth of a mile in 
length and twenty -four feet in depth, and then struck the 
head waters of the Bio Grande, which flows into the Ba- 
cific Ocean. Following the left bank of this stream, and de- 
scending by a grade of sixty feet to the mile for the first 
four miles, the line crossed the rivers Bedro Miguel, Caimi- 
tillo, and Cardenas, near their entrance into the Bio Grande ; 
thence it stretched across the savannas of Corrisal and the 



40 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

swamps of Correndeu, and cut through a spur of Mount 
Ancon, leaving the main elevation to the right, and reach- 
ed the Pacific Ocean at Playa Prieta, the northern suburb 
of the city of Panama. 

Four tracks were laid at the Atlantic and three at the 
Pacific terminus, and the line of the road was well supplied 
with sidings and machinery for reversing locomotives. A 
machine shop one hundred and fifty feet long by fifty wide, 
stocked with first class machinery, sufficient to do all the 
repairs required for the road, was in operation at Aspinwall ; 
also a blacksmith's shop, containing six suitable forges, and 
a brass foundry, with a small cupola for iron castings. 
There was also a car-repair shop, one hundred feet long by 
eighty feet wide, a freight-house and passenger depot at 
either terminus, and suitable buildings for the accommoda- 
tion of the employes of the Company. 

A pier of four hundred and fifty feet in length was con- 
structed at the Panama terminus, which gave greatly in- 
creased facilities for embarking and landing passengers and 
freight, and a steam-tug was substituted for the lighters and 
small boats which had been previously used for transporta- 
tion between ship and shore, a distance of two and a half 
miles. The Company owned, by purchase, fourteen acres of 
land, having a front of five hundred feet on the bay. The 
Company also obtained by purchase, in connection with the 
Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company,, a group of four islands 
in the Bay of Panama, about two and a half miles from the 
city, affording good shelter and anchorage for vessels of the 
largest class, and well supplied with good springs of water. 

But the road at this time, though in working order and 
performing a large and daily-increasing service, was by no 
means actually completed. Much of the work, especially 
on the Pacific division, was of a temporary character; 
streams were crossed on temporary trestles, many of them 
of timber procured from the adjoining woods, and which it 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 4 L 

was known would not last more than six or eight months ; 
deep ravines, requiring embankments from twenty to eighty 
feet in height (which it was found, from the nature of the 
adjoining soil, as well as from the amount of work involved 
in filling them, would delay the laying of the track for 
many months), were crossed on temporary trestle-work, in 
order to obtain the advantage of immediate communication 
between the two oceans by rail, thereby saving the thou- 
sands of men, women, and children, who were then crossing 
the Isthmus every month, the thirteen miles of mule-ride 
over a dangerous path, as well as the almost incredible hard- 
ships and perils to which they were subjected. 

The difficulty and expense of keeping the road open in 
this state was very great ; but, while this was safely accom- 
plished, the work, under the energetic and skillful manage- 
ment of Messrs. Totten and Center, rapidly assumed a per- 
manent character; firm and thoroughly secured embank- 
ments took the place of the trestle-work ; for the temporary 
bridges were substituted heavy iron substantial structures, 
with abutments of stone. 

Some idea of the magnitude of the bridge and culvert 
work may be obtained when it is known that the water- 
ways on the route were no less than one hundred and sev- 
enty in number, viz., one hundred and thirty-four culverts, 
drains, and bridges ten feet and under, the remaining 
bridges ranging from twelve to six hundred and twenty- 
five feet in breadth. 

The iron bridge across the Chagres at Barbacoas may be 
taken, for its great strength and durability, as the type of 
all like structures on the line of the road. This bridge was 
composed of six spans of over a hundred feet each, built of 
boiler iron, with a top and bottom chord two feet in breadth 
and one inch in thickness, and joined together by a web of 
boiler iron nine feet in height at the centre and seven feet 
at the ends. The track was laid on iron floor-girders three 
feet apart, and the whole structure supported by five piers 



42 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



and two abutments of hewn stone twenty-six feet wide and 
eight feet in thickness, increasing in the proportion of an 
inch to the foot down to their foundations, which were con- 
structed of piles and concrete. 

The ballasting, which was, however, previously well un- 
der way, was carried on and completed throughout the en- 
tire line of the road in the most substantial manner, and 
the rapidly decaying spruce, pine, and native wood ties 
were removed, and replaced with ties of lignum-vitse, im- 
ported from the province of Carthagena, Additional 
buildings for the accommodation of freight and passengers 
were erected at the Pacific terminus, to meet the wants of 
a greatly increased business, and at the Atlantic terminus 
new and commodious wharves were built, besides a massive 
stone warehouse three hundred feet long by eighty wide, 
the stone taken from quarries along the line of the road. 
Large and commodious station-houses, for the use of the 
local superintendents, were erected at intervals of four 
miles along the entire line, and an electric telegraph was 
established between the termini for the use of the Com- 
pany. These, besides many other improvements, in reduc- 
ing grades* and straightening curves, were accomplished 



* TABLE OF THE GRADES FROM ASPINWALL TO PANAMA. 


Rate of grade per mile 


Length of grade 


Rate of grade per mile 


Length of grade 


in feet. 


in feet. 


in feet. 


in feet. 


Level. 


123,539 


24.82 


418 


2.64 


1,000 


26.40 


13,600 


5.28 


1,900 


30.00 


8,868 


7.92 


1,500 


30.25 


1,936 


8.45 


2,500 


31.68 


1,100 


9.24 


3,100 


34.15 


1,400 


10.56 


13,313 


36.00 


2,200 


12.14 


2,600 


36.96 


2,396 


12.41 


4,300 


37.49 


1,916 


13.20 


6,500 


38.54 


1,707 


15.10 


2,100 


46.20 


3,430 


15.84 


3,700 


47.30 


3,250 


17.42 


200 


52.80 


6,300 


19.01 


1,400 


58.87 


3,355 


20.60 


4,900 


60.00 


20,107 


21.12 


4,595 




71,983 


23.25 


2,052 




179,199 


179,199 


251,182 




THE CABILDO AT PANAMA. 



TANAMA EAILROAD. 45 

daring the two years following the opening of the road in 
1855, involving an additional expenditure of nearly two 
millions of dollars. This great expenditure was not, how- 
ever, incurred without satisfactory proof that the enterprise 
would equal, in its pecuniary advantages, all the calcula- 
tions which had been made in regard to its increase of rev- 
enue. Up to the opening of the road in 1855, that is to 
say, from the running of the first passenger train in 1852, 
the amount received for the transportation of passengers and 
freight was $2,125,232 31. See Appendix B, p. 61, et seq. 

From 1857 the Company were actively engaged in estab- 
lishing every needful arrangement and improvement which 
was found necessary to facilitate the perfect working of the 
road. Side tracks at either terminus were added to meet 
its increased requirements ; the wharves at Aspinwall were 
improved and covered, and substantial bulk-heads were 
erected over a considerable portion of the frontage of the 
port. Much of the low ground on the island was filled in 
and laid out into streets, and many buildings erected. In 
addition to this, an immense reservoir was in process of con- 
struction on the site of a natural basin some two miles dis- 
tant, from which water was to be conveyed in iron pipes to 
Aspinwall for the use of the town and shipping ; and a sub- 
stantial iron light-house, sixty feet in height, and furnished 
with a Fresnel light, was substituted for the wooden struc- 
ture at the western side of the entrance to the port. At 
Panama the wooden pier was replaced by one of iron four 
hundred and fifty feet in length, and steam-tugs for towage, 
and several iron launches, each of one hundred tons burthen, 
were added to the facilities for the transhipment of goods be- 
tween ship and shore. These were the principal works and 
improvements up to January, 1859, when the construction 
account of the road was closed, showing its entire cost up to 
that date to have been eight millions of dollars. 

The gross earnings of the road up to that time amounted 



46 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

to eight millions one hundred and forty-six thousand six 
hundred and five dollars. 

The running expenses, together with depreciation in iron, 
ties, buildings, etc., amounted to $2,174,876 51, leaving a 
balance of $5,971,728 6Q as the legitimate returns for the 
money invested in the road in a period of seven years, dur- 
ing the first of which but twelve miles were in operation, 
the second twenty -three, the third thirty-one : only for the 
last four years was the road in use throughout its entire 
extent. 

Out of these receipts, the directors of the Company, hav- 
ing paid the regular interest on all mortgage and other 
bonds, a ten per cent, dividend to stockholders in 1852, 
one of seven per cent, in each of the years 1853 and '54, 
and one of twelve per cent, for every succeeding year, 
showed a balance of $529,041 50, besides a sinking fund 
of $153,395 83, and no floating debt. 

The increase in the receipts from the commencement of 
the road was as follows : 

From December, 1852, 12 miles open,) " 
To « 1853,23 » « }$ 73 ' 26632 ' 

From 1853 to 1854, 31 miles open, $131,143 91. 
From 1854 to 1855, opening of the entire road, $645,497 29. 
From 1855 to 1858 showed an increase of $416,006 84 ; and 
From 1858 to 1859, an increase above that of $419,477 93. 
(For a particular statement of items of expenditure and income, see 
Appendix B, page 61, et seq.J 

HEALTH OF THE ISTHMUS. 
It may interest the general reader to know that more than 
196,000 passengers have been transported over the road 
during the five years ending in December, 1859, and it is 
not known that a single case of sickness has occurred dur- 
ing or in consequence of the transit since the entire open- 
ing of the road in 1855. The diseases contracted by per- 
sons in transit previous to that time were of a purely ma- 



immm* ... 




PANAMA KAILROAD. 49 

larious character, and identical with the intermittent (fever 
and ague) and bilious fevers of the "Western States, always 
found resulting from great exposure and fatigue, so often 
unavoidable while the transit was performed upon mules 
and in open boats, occupying from two to five days, the 
traveler frequently obliged to live upon the vilest food, and 
sleep upon the wet ground or in the but little less comfort- 
less huts of the natives ; the comfortable railway carriage, 
and the passage from ocean to ocean reduced to three hours, 
having fully demonstrated a perfect immunity to the trav- 
eler from all those varieties of sickness long popularly rec- 
ognized under the head of Panama Fever. The sanitary 
condition not only of Aspinwall, but of the country along 
the entire line of the road, has also been improved by the 
filling in and draining of the swamp and low land to such 
a degree that the congestive forms of fever among the la- 
borers and residents which, during the earlier days of the 
road, were the chief causes of mortality, are now rarely met 
with, and the whole line of the transit will, in point of 
healthiness, compare favorably with many of the equally 
recent settlements in the Western States. 

SAFETY TO PROPERTY. 

The amount of specie conveyed over the road from 1855 
to 1860 was over three hundred millions of dollars, without 
the loss of a single dollar / and during the same period there 
were sent over the road nearly 100,000 bags of mail matter 
(the greater part of which consisted of mails between the 
Atlantic States and California), not one of which was lost. 
And of the many thousands of tons of freight which have 
been transported over the Panama Eailroad since it was 
first opened, the losses by damage and otherwise do not ex- 
ceed five thousand dollars. 

C 



50 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

SOURCES OF BUSINESS. 

Erroneous impressions in regard to the sources from 
whence the business of the Panama Eailroad is derived pre- 
vail extensively even among intelligent business men and 
members of our national councils, many regarding it as en- 
tirely dependent upon our trade with California. The fact 
seems to be overlooked that while California has a popula- 
tion estimated at only 500,000, the population of Central 
America is over 2,000,000 ; and that that portion of South 
America, whose only means of communicating with the At- 
lantic is either by the Isthmus of Panama or around Cape 
Horn, contains nearly 8,000,000, and that regular and di- 
rect steam marine communication exists between those coun- 
tries and the Panama Eailroad. 

The fact that up to the establishment of the Isthmus 
Railroad the trade of South and Central America had been 
carried on almost exclusively with Europe (that between 
the United States and those countries being estimated at 
less than ten per cent, of the whole) has prevented its mag- 
nitude and importance from being fully appreciated by the 
American people. 

Careful estimates, however, show that the value of the 
trade of these countries to and from the Atlantic exceeds 
$60,000,000 per annum. The managers of the Panama 
Railroad Company, from its earliest existence, were aware 
of that important circumstance, and looked confidently to 
the business of those regions already existing, and that 
which would undoubtedly be developed by the facilities 
afforded by the railroad, as one of the surest elements in its 
ultimate and permanent success. 

It was not lost sight of that the European trade (as far 
as European influence extended) would cling tenaciously 
to its circuitous track around Cape Horn, fully aware that, 
when the business was turned into the direct route across 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 51 

the Isthmus, a large portion of the trade would be inevita- 
bly directed to the nearer markets of the United States; 
notwithstanding this, the Company rested in the conviction 
that the shortening of the distance from three thousand to 
more than four thousand miles for the South American 
markets, and more than five thousand for the Pacific Cen- 
tral American, besides the avoidance of the well-known 
perils of Cape Horn, must bring much of the most valuable 
merchandise across their road so soon as those countries 
were able to avail themselves of its advantages. The South 
American states, Chili, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, were 
put in immediate connection with the road by a British 
line of steam-ships, which was organized some time pre- 
vious to the opening of the road, and which, up to that 
time, had been mainly dependent upon the coastwise trade. 
The business resulting fully justified the expectations of 
the Company (see Appendix A, page 57, et seq.) ; but the 
Central American states had at that time no means of con- 
nection with the road. Their Pacific ports had been so 
long shut out from remunerative commercial relations that 
they could not at once realize the advantages the Isthmus 
railroad offered over the tedious and expensive land-route 
to the Atlantic ; they required to be lifted from the ruts 
along which they had been creeping and groaning for ages, 
and placed upon this great commercial highway. 

This was accomplished in 1856 by the Panama Eailroad 
Company, who at that time organized a line of steam com- 
munication with all their ports from Panama to San Jose 
de Guatemala. 

This departure from the legitimate business of the road 
was not made until the directors had vainly exhausted every 
available means in their power for the establishment of an 
independent company. But the development of the Cen- 
tral American trade was so manifestly for the interest of 
the Isthmus transit, and so certain to follow the establish- 



52 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

ment of such a line, that they finally decided to identify its 
interests with those of the road. In the latter part of 1856 
the first vessel was dispatched under the command of Capt. 
J. M. Dow. The returns from the monthly voyages of the 
" Columbus" soon proved the wisdom of the measure, for 
in less than two years the cargoes of merchandise brought 
from those states for transportation over the road often ex- 
ceeded half a million of dollars, while a large amount of 
foreign merchandise found its way to those countries by 
the same channel. 

In 1858, the business over the road from the South and 
Central American states exceeded in value nine times the 
freighting business of California via the Isthmus, and by 
1860 less than one fifteenth of the freighting business of the 
road was due to the California trade, the remaining fourteen 
fifteenths consisting mainly of shipments from the United 
States, British manufactures and other goods shipped direct 
from England for South and Central America, and the 
produce of those countries in return, such as indigo, cochi- 
neal, India-rubber, coffee, cocoa, deer-skins and goat-skins, 
besides orchilla, pearl-shells, tobacco, balsams, Peruvian 
bark, ores, straw hats, etc., etc. 

When it comes to be considered that in the California 
trade large amounts of goods and merchandise for Oregon 
and Washington Territory and the British Possessions are 
included, likewise occasional shipments from China and the 
Sandwich Islands, and that it is still in its infancy, the im- 
portance of the South and Central American trade to the 
Panama Eailroad may be in a measure appreciated. The 
conveyances by which the business of the Pacific coast finds 
its way to and from the road are, 

1st. By the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, plying tri- 
monthly between California, Mexico, and Panama, with a 
fleet of twelve large steam-ships. 

2d. The Oregon and California Steam-ship Company, 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 55 

running between California, Oregon, and Washington Ter- 
ritory, with a branch line to the Mexican coast, and con- 
necting with the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company tri- 
monthly, with a fleet of five steam-ships. 

3d. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company, plying semi- 
monthly between Chili, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, New Gran- 
ada, and Panama, with a fleet of nine large steamers for the 
main service, and three smaller steam-ships performing a 
coasting service, and connecting with the main line. 

4th. The Central American Steam-ship Company, run- 
ning semi-monthly between Guatemala, Salvador, Costa 
Eica, Nicaragua, and Panama, with two large steam-ships 
and one steam-tug. 

Besides these are numerous sailing vessels with freight 
from different ports for transportation over the road. 

On the Atlantic side are, 

1st. The Atlantic and Pacific Steam-ship Company, -ply- 
ing tri-monthly between New York and Aspinwall. 

2d. The Eoyal Mail Steam Packet Company, running 
semi-monthly between England, the "West Indies, the east- 
ern coast of South and Central America, and Aspinwall, 
with a fleet of twenty-three large steam-ships. 

3d. Holt's line of screw steamers between Liverpool and 
Aspinwall, monthly — two steamers. 

Besides the steam lines are, 

1st. The Bremen and Aspinwall line of sailing vessels, 
monthly. 

2d. The Bordeaux and Aspinwall line of sailing vessels, 
quarterly. 

3d. The Panama Eailroad Company's line of sailing ves- 
sels between Liverpool and Aspinwall, monthly. 

4th. The Panama Eailroad Company's line of sailing ves- 
sels from New York to Aspinwall — seven vessels : three 
barks and four brigs. 

5th. Five ships a year from Boston to Aspinwall. For 



56 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

particular information in regard to these lines, see Ap- 
pendix D, p. 147, et seq. 

CHARACTER OF THE SERVICE PERFORMED ON THE ROAD. 

As early as the year 1855 daily trains were established 
each way over the road, requiring in its then imperfect 
state from five to six hours for the transit. As the charac- 
ter of the road improved, a corresponding improvement 
took place in the time-table, and for the past three years 
the passage has been uniformly and safely accomplished in 
three hours, or even less, when the exigency of the case re- 
quired it. The rolling stock of the road has always been 
most ample. Fifteen hundred passengers, with the United 
States mails, and the freight of three steam-ships, have not 
unfrequently been transported over the road during a sin- 
gle half day. The engines, some eleven in number, are of 
the first class, averaging twenty tons burden; the passen- 
ger-cars are large and commodious, and built for conven- 
ience and comfort, especially with reference to the climate ; 
the cars for the transportation of the mails and treasure are 
entirely of iron. The usual freight-cars are built to carry 
not only the ordinary freight, but the heaviest and coarsest 
materials — large quantities of gold and silver ore, timber, 
anchors, and chains of the largest size, cannon shot and 
shells, iron- work in pieces of twenty -five tons, heavy ma- 
chinery, guano, whale-oil, etc., more or less of which are 
daily passing over the road. The arrangements for the 
loading and unloading of cargoes are unusually perfect; 
double tracks run from the main road down the different 
wharves to the very ship's side, and the lading process is 
so effectively managed that frequently less than two hours 
pass between the arrival of the largest ships, laden with from 
two to three hundred tons of merchandise, besides the bag- 
gage of from four to eight hundred passengers, and the de- 
parture of the trains for Panama bearing the entire freight. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



57 



APPENDIX A. 

Statement of Merchandise, destined for San Francisco, transported over the 
Panama Railroad during the two Years ending respectively July 3\st, 1859 
and 1860. 



Yea iv. 


Tons measurement. 


Tons weight. 


No. of packages. 


Total tons. 


1859 
18G0 


5626p 
691l|g 


"^200 

755 5 42_ 

1 20 00 


24,482 
46,0G1 


5665f 

76671 





Statement of Merchandise from San Francisco transported over the Panama 
Railroad for the two Years above named. 



Years. 


No. of packages. |Tons measurement. 


Tons weight. 


Total tons. 


1859 
1860 


259 
525 


321J-S 


1910 5 2 

200 O 


32ia 
73-| 



Statement of Treasure from San Francisco transported over the Panama Rail- 
road for the tico Years above named. 



Years. Number of packages. 


Amount. 


1859 
1860 


2399 
2476 


$37,173,187 25 
38,247.613 62 



Statement of Merchandise, destined for Central American Ports, transported 
over the Panama Railroad for the Years 1859 and 1860. 



Years. 


No. of packages. 


Tons measurement. 


Tons weight. 


Total tons. 


1859 
1860 


11,319 
23,257 


3064^ 


111217 
x L 2 

9 1 Q 7 2 9 
- 1J 2000 


1655| 

32841 

b 



Statement of Merchandise from Central American Ports transported over the 
Panama Railroad for the two Years ending respectively July 31, 1859 and 
1860. 



Years. 


No of 
Hides. 


Number of packages of 


Total. 


D 


GO 


6 
a 


"3 
3 
o 






a 

"3 
pq 


o 
O 


o 


•J 


c 

7 


s 

< 
8 


a 

3 
IK 

124 


6 

f 
H 

14 


1 

it 

Q 


1859 

1860 


26,892 
65,899 


5717 

8270 


468 
745 


6910 
5420 


3633 
6239 


63 

777 


1 

4 


327 

286 


2 
5 


16 
359 


16 


1408 


45,575 
88,143 



Statement of Merchandise, destined for the West Coast of South America, trans- 
ported over the Panama Railroad for the two Years above named. 



Years. 


Number of 
packages. 


Jewelry, etc. 
Value of. 


Tons 
measurement. 


Tons 
weight. 


Total tons. 


1859 
1860 


1063 
8413 


$90,342 
1,809,000 


199f£ 
1099f£ 


1 139. 
^2000 


198$ 
11301 



C2 



58 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



Statement of Merchandise from the West Coast of South America transported 
over the Panama Railroad for the two Years ending respectively July 31s£, 
1859 and 1860. 



Years. 


No. of 
Hides. 


Number of packages of 


Total. 


Skins. 


India- 
rubber. 


Bark. Cocoa. 


Tobacco. 


Orchilla. 


Sundries, 


Copper. 


1859 
1860 


147 
2017 


979 


2 
188 


571 [1706 


25 

93 


32 


20 


6243 


174 

11,850 




Treasu 




$ 


1 













The above comprises only the merchandise brought under through bills of 
lading ; all other is included in the following table. 



Statement of Merchandise from Panama, N. G., transported over the Panama 
Railroad for the two Years ending respectively July 31sf, 1859 and I860, not 
under through Bills of Lading. 



Years. 


No. of 
Hides. 


Nnniber of packages of 


Total. 


55 


a 


6 

tt 
•3 

a 

42 
95 


■3 ~ 

~ 2" 
45 


=3 

o 
1572 
2413 


id 

C 

25 

1G4 


73 
O 
O 

■s 
o 
14 
1000 


u 

1 

•220 


o 
O 

52 
38 


-5 
c 

m 

46 
35 


5~ 

-L-, 

851 
525 


y 

33 

93 
19 


J3_ 

8 


5 

1 

5 


o 

5- 

7b: 
25 


'3 

S 

98 


1859 
1860 


35,721 
29,869 


166 

220 


6628 
5453 


45,292 
40,832 


- 

i 


SPECIE. 




Year. 


Number of package 




Amount. 


1860 


28 


$100,342 00 







■.!■. 






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72 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

The early history and present condition of the road, at 
least so much of it as has been thought would prove inter- 
esting and serviceable to the general reader, has been pre- 
sented. The sources of its present business have been 
shown, and some idea of its probable increase from these ; 
but a large and important field within the legitimate scope 
of the enterprise demands a little attention from its bearings 
on the future business of the road. A glance at the geo- 
graphical situation of the Isthmus of Panama, in its relation 
with Australia, China, Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, 
will discover the capacity of the transit to shorten the dis- 
tances from those countries to the markets of the United 
States by so many thousands of miles as must make it an 
eventual necessity for the trade, at least a large portion of 
it, to seek this, the only direct route between the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans.* 

TRAVELER'S GUIDE. 

As the traveler enters the harbor of Navy Bay he can 
not fail to observe the beauty of the scene spread out be- 
fore him. On the right and in front of the harbor, which 
sweeps around a semicircle of some three miles in extent, 
the primeval forest of the tropics, with its dense vinous un- 

Miles. 
* The distance from N.York to Sydney, Australia, via Cape Horn, is 12,870 

" " " via Panama 9,950 

In favor of Panama 2,720 

The distance from N. York to Honolulu, S'dwich Isl., via Cape Horn 13, 560 
" " via Panama... 6,800 

In favor of Panama 6,760 

The distance from New York to Hong Kong, via Cape Horn 17,420 

via Panama 11,850 

In favor of Panama 5,570 

The distance from New York to Jeddo, Japan, via Cape Horn 16,710 

" " " via Panama 10,220 

In favor of Panama 6,490 

Distance from England to Sydney, Australia, via Cape of G. Hope 12,828 

" " " uiaPanama 12,730 

In favor of Panama 98 



nili^ 




PANAMA KAILROAD. 75 

dergrowth and its towering cocoa and palm trees, meets his 
view ; on the left, from the iron light-house on the extreme 
seaward point, the brightly -painted Americo-Spanish town 
of Aspinwall extends, its long covered wharves filled with 
the shipping of many nations. A verandaed street skirts 
the shore, and a dense equatorial forest rising up behind is 
relieved by the faint and misty mountain range, which forms 
the back-bone of the Isthmus, and connects the great Cordil- 
lera of the northern and southern continents — the Rocky 
Mountains and the Andes. This harbor (said to have been 
discovered by Columbus during his third voyage, and by 
him named " Navy Bay") is three miles in length by two in 
breadth, with an average depth of seven fathoms, affording 
good anchorage ground in every part. Since the establish- 
ment of the Panama Railroad it has been a rendezvous 
for the United States Atlantic squadron, and one or more 
frigates of the first class may usually be seen at anchor; 
also a United States store-ship, which has its permanent 
station here. 

The city of Aspinwall, which has grown up from the 
necessity of its position as the Atlantic terminus of the rail- 
road, while answering its purpose as a receiving and tran- 
shipping depot, has but little, architecturally, to recommend 
it to notice, the dwellings, some two hundred in number, 
being of wood, and built in a style midway between the 
New England house and the verandaed structures usual in 
the tropics. They are built on land leased from the Com- 
pany by private individuals. 

The voyager coming to Aspinwall by the United States 
mail steam-ships will be landed at the end of an immense 
wharf belonging to the Company, and will find it worth 
his while to take a walk about the town ere making the 
transit of the Isthmus. First, it may not be amiss to notice 
the wharf itself, which extends from the shore out upon a 
coral reef, nearly a thousand feet, to where a depth of wa- 



<Q HAND-BOOK OF THE 

ter exists sufficient to float the largest ships. It is forty 
feet in breadth, and covered by a lofty metallic roof; the 
piles upon which it stands are coppered to protect them from 
the teredo, a boring worm which infests these waters, and 
rapidly destroys every kind of timber unless thus protected. 
At the upper end of the wharf a grove of cocoanut-trees 
shoots up through the flooring, and at any and every sea- 
son of the year the cocoanut, in the bud, the blossom, and 
full grown, may here be seen. Several large iron tanks are 
situated at the head of the wharf, each of a capacity of sev- 
eral thousand gallons. The whole island of Manzanilla, 
upon which Aspinwall is situated, a mile in length by three 
quarters in width, being a low coral foundation, has no 
springs of water, and that obtained by digging is so brack- 
ish that rain-water is used instead j these tanks, filled by the 
rains which prevail for more than half the year, before the 
establishment of the great reservoir, furnished the supply 
of water for the shipping during the dry season. At the 
head of the wharf you reach the quadruple track of the 
railway. Proceeding toward its Atlantic terminus, you 
pass, on your left, the line of stores, shops, and hotels which 
were visible from the entrance of the harbor. The shops, 
perhaps half a dozen in number, usually display a very re- 
spectable assortment of goods, principally ready-made cloth- 
ing, fancy articles, and groceries. Among them are several 
quite extensive importing houses of French, English, and 
American merchandise, and Havana eigars for the South 
American market and the shipping visiting the port. 

The hotels,* of which there are, great and small, at least 
a dozen, have, for this country, very fair accommodation for 
all classes of travelers, at from one to four dollars per day ; 

* Probably the best accommodation will be found at the Howard, City, and 
Aspinwall Hotels. Usual charge for first class passengers $3 per day. Sec- 
ond class passengers are accommodated at the other houses at considerably 
lower rates. It is well to have the terms well understood beforehand. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. / / 

but little business, however, is done among them except on 
the arrival of the passenger steamers of the California line. 
In 1852, when these hotels were erected, travelers were 
often detained here for several days, when the landlords 
drove a brisk trade ; but now the ship-loads of passengers 
are seldom detained here more than two or three hours, 
and, although, a brisk business is done for the time, the pub- 
lican finds his opportunity too brief to realize much profit. 

At the end of the row stands the Panama Eailroad Com- 
pany's office, a respectable fire-proof two-story brick build- 
ing, into the upper windows of which the wires of the Isth- 
mus Telegraph converge. The poles, or, more properly, the 
pillars, which serve to support the wires of this telegraph 
line, from their symmetry, strength, and novel construction, 
are worthy of particular notice. They are apparently of 
hewn stone. Some two years since, after much trouble and 
expense had resulted in consequence of the rapid decay of 
the wooden poles formerly used, Colonel Totten conceived 
the idea of moulding a support of concrete. A small 
straight stick of the necessary height was placed upright, 
and surrounded by a jointed wooden mould, fifteen inches 
in diameter at the base, tapering to about eight inches at 
the top, and sunk into the earth sufficiently for firm sup- 
port ; this was filled with concrete, and allowed to stand for 
several days. When the mould was removed, it was found 
firm and strong, and apparently every way adapted to the 
purpose. This fact once settled, the entire line was supplied 
with these quasi stone columns, but little exceeding the un- 
sightly wooden poles in expense, and perfectly weather and 
insect proof. It is now nearly two years since their estab- 
lishment, and they bid fair, extraordinary occurrences ex- 
cepted, to last for a century. 

Farther along the track, on your right, you pass the main 
railroad wharf, at which any day in the year several ves- 
sels, sail or steam, may be seen actively discharging car- 



78 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

goes for shipment across the road. A couple of hundred 
yards brings you to a massive stone structure three hund- 
red feet long by eighty wide, through whose broad-arched 
entrances a triple track is laid. This is the freight depot 
of the Panama Eailroad Company, and the following de- 
scription by a recent visitor will give the traveler an idea 
of its usual internal appearance : 

" Bales of quina bark from the interior were piled many 
tiers deep, and reached to the iron triangular-braced roof 
of the edifice. Ceroons of indigo and cochineal from San 
Salvador and Guatemala; coffee from Costa Kica, and ca- 
cao from Ecuador ; sarsaparilla from Nicaragua, and ivory- 
nuts from Porto Bello; copper ore from Bolivia.; silver 
bars from Chili ; boxes of hard dollars from Mexico, and 
gold ore from California; hides from the whole range of 
the North and South Pacific coast ; hundreds of bushels of 
glistening pearl-oyster shells from the fisheries of Panama 
lay heaped along the floor, flanked by no end of North 
American beef, pork, flour, bread, and cheese, for the pro- 
visioning of the Pacific coast, and English and French 
goods for the same markets ; while in a train of cattle-cars 
that stood on one of the tracks were huddled about a hund- 
red meek-looking lamas from Peru, on their way to the isl- 
and of Cuba, among whose mountains they are used for 
beasts of burden as well as for their wool." 

Its situation is on the direct line of the road, its seaward 
side opening by great doors out upon the waters of the bay, 
so as to allow vessels of light tonnage to discharge cargo di- 
rectly into the depot, while for the heavier a covered wharf 
extends from the centre into six fathom water. On emerg- 
ing from the farther extremity of the freight-house, a hund- 
red paces brings you to the Mingillo, or native market-place. 
A few lusty half-naked negroes, descended from the Afri- 
can slaves of the old Spanish dominion (who form a large 
proportion of the littoral population of the Isthmus) are gen- 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 79 

erally seen supplying their customers with fish, cassava, ba- 
nanas, plantains, and many other fruits and vegetables of 
the country, from out the bongoes which lay alongside the 
wharf, or, grouped on the shore over smoking kettles of san- 
coche, ladling out this favorite compound to their native pa- 
trons. Large quantities of the vegetable ivory-nut are also 
brought here by the natives for barter and sale. Some- 
times a few aboriginal Indians from the region of San Bias 
(some sixty miles down the coast) may be seen here. Bath- 
er under the medium stature, they are broad-shouldered and 
muscular, with the straight black hair and high cheek-bones 
of the North American tribes. They have a peculiar in- 
terest from the fact that they belong to a tribe never sub- 
jugated by the Conquistador es, but who have maintained an 
unwavering hostility to the Spaniard since the first discov- 
ery of the country, and have cherished such a jealousy of 
their independence that, to the present day, no white man 
has been permitted to land upon their shores. Their usual 
dress consists of a simple fold of cloth tied about the loins, 
though they are not unfrequently seen clad after the man- 
ner of the Spanish natives, in a loose shirt and loose cotton 
or hempen trowsers. Though apparently apathetic and 
uncommunicative, there is a considerable degree of intelli- 
gence in their expression, and a conscious independence in 
their bearing, that gives one a fair idea of the races which 
Columbus and his followers found here in the days of old. 
They have recently allowed one or two small trading 
schooners twice or thrice a year to anchor near their shores 
and traffic with them, receiving calicoes, beads, and other 
ornaments, machetas, etc., in exchange for tortoise-shell, 
ivory-nuts, and gold dust ; but every attempt to explore 
their country has been uniformly resisted. Their chief 
weapon is the bow and arrow (the arrow armed with fish- 
bones), in the use of which they are said to be very skillful, 
and to be in the habit of using it effectively not only upon 



80 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

land, but in their waters ; with barbed palm- wood arrows 
some four feet in length, they have the reputation of being 
able to transfix large fish at a distance of two or three feet 
beneath the surface. 

Along the opposite side of the railway from the Mingillo 
lies a broad lagoon covering a couple of acres, and connect- 
ed with the waters of the harbor by a narrow opening un- 
der the road. This lagoon is crossed at about the centre by 
a recently-made street, and will soon be still farther reduced 
in extent by others. A line of low tenements, principally 
occupied by the native population, a few stores, and a large 
hotel, the Aspinwall House, bound its opposite shore, be- 
yond which a dense swamp-forest shuts off the view. Pro- 
ceeding a little farther, you pass "Johnson's Ice-house," or, 
rather, if you have an eye to creature comfort, you will not 
pass it, for it is a depot for ice and such things for the in- 
ner man as may be preserved in it of northern product. 
Five ships a year come consigned to this establishment from 
the Boston Ice Company, and Johnson, " the Ice-man of the 
Isthmus," is decidedly a man whose acquaintance is worth 
cultivating in this climate. Turning now to the left, to- 
ward the sea-beach, which forms a semicircle around this 
end of the island, the driving surf of centuries has washed 
up along its whole extent a wide barrier of shells and coral. 
Upon this you will first observe the hospitals of the Kail- 
road Company, a couple of large, airy buildings, surround- 
ed by generous tiers of piazzas, about which a general air 
of tidiness and comfort prevails. Although built for the 
exclusive use of the Company, strangers requiring medical 
aid are permitted to avail themselves of their advantages. 
A little to the left is a long wooden building, which con- 
tains the lecture-room, library, and- club-room of the em- 
ployes of the Company. A well-selected library of sever- 
al hundred volumes, and the standard periodicals and jour- 
nals, may be seen here ; there are also materials for a snug 






PANAMA RAILROAD. 81 

game of billiards, backgammon, or chess. Three or four 
neat little cottages come next along the line of the beach, 
the residences of the principal officers of the Company, with 
little garden-plats in the rear, and an occasional cocoa-tree 
throwing pleasant shadows over them. A little farther on 
is a fine corrugated iron dwelling, the residence of the Roy- 
al Mail Steam Packet Company's agent ; next to this is seen 
the general domestic rendezvous of the Railroad Company's 
officials (usually known as the " Mess-house"), imbedded 
in a grove of cocoa and banana trees. Within fifty yards 
of the rolling surf, the sea-breeze ever playing through its 
surrounding foliage, it would be difficult to find a more de- 
sirable tropical residence. 

Still farther on to the right are the buildings of the ter- 
minus, car repositories, etc., and machine-shops, whose tall 
chimneys send up steady columns of smoke, while the ring 
of many hammers breaks cheerily upon the ear. Along 
the beach a nicely -graded road has been constructed, which 
extends the entire circumference of the island, and for more 
than two thirds of its course it passes along or through the 
dense and luxuriant tropical forest with which nearly one 
half the island is still covered. The "Paseo Coral," as this 
beautiful walk or drive is called, was built by the citizens 
of Aspinwall, every facility and aid being rendered by the 
Railroad Company ; and morning and evening, especially on 
Sundays and holidays, it is a favorite resort of the inhabit- 
ants of all classes, a few on horseback or in light wagons, 
but the great majority on foot. Any lover of the beautiful 
in nature will find it worth his while to make a tour of this 
"Paseo;" on one side charming glimpses of the ocean and 
of the " Archipelago" (which cuts off the island of Manza- 
nilla from the main land) meet the eye at every turn, and 
at almost any point the conchologist may step out upon the 
coral reef and find sea-shells, fans, and coral to an indefi- 
nite extent ; on the other, a great varietv of tropical vege- 

D2 



82 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

tation invites the lover of botany to cull from its varied 
and luxuriant growth ; here and there narrow paths lead 
from it to little native plantations of banana, papaya, and 
yam, imbedded in which the native hut, with its severely 
simple furnishing, may be seen, and will convey to the trav- 
eler an idea of the habits and character of the native in- 
habitant of this country. The land in and about Aspin- 
wall, though highly productive, has not yet been brought 
under proper cultivation to any extent, though several 
promising plantations have been recently established by 
foreign residents ; fowls, yams, and tropical fruits are, how- 
ever, found in plenty, and native beef is abundant ; the har- 
bor also abounds in excellent fish, and the neighboring isl- 
ands afford an imlimited supply of the finest green turtle, 
the usual market-price of which is five cents per pound. 
Aspinwall, though belonging to New Granada, has a sepa- 
rate civic government, the control of which is possessed 
chiefly by residents from the United States, most of whom 
are connected with the Panama Eailroad Company. 

JOURNEY OVER THE ROAD. 

While the principal portion of the route of the Panama 
Eailroad affords to the traveler but little of historic interest 
apart from its own construction, passing as it does through 
the heart of a primeval tropical forest for many miles of its 
extent, and among the wildest and most picturesque mount- 
ain scenery, along beautiful rivers, fertile plains, and luxu- 
riant lowlands, for the remainder it affords the observant 
traveler an opportunity of an easy enjoyment and acquaint- 
ance with intertropical nature unsurpassed in any part of 
the world. Though in point of climate a perpetual summer 
reigns, the summer and winter are represented by the dry 
and wet seasons, which produce in the appearance of the 
vegetation a constant succession of changes in color and 
form ever new and beautiful. From May until October 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 85 

the rains fall almost daily for several hours ; there are usual- 
ly also several hours each day of bright sunshine. Occa- 
sionally throughout the wet season the rain falls for several 
days without cessation, and in violence and amount seldom 
if ever seen in northern latitudes. During this season the 
forests are clothed in brilliant and varied greens, and many 
of the large forest-trees are covered with blossoms of white, 
scarlet, or yellow, which, together with the myriads of par- 
asites, epiphytes, and flowering vines, often produce the 
most gorgeous effects. During the dry season, which occu- 
pies the rest of the year, while showers are not uncommon, 
it is usual to see two, and even three months pass without 
rain, and the vegetation is scarcely less beautiful than in the 
wet, though toward the latter part many of the larger trees 
are destitute of foliage, and the browns and yellows of dy- 
ing leaves are seen on every side ; yet the rich greens still 
preponderate sufficiently to give a decided summer charac- 
ter to the whole ; and the evergreen palms, from which hang 
numberless clusters of ripe palm-nuts of the richest scarlet ; 
the lowland trees, that blossom at every season; and the 
passifloras, and many other beautiful flowers, that develop 
only in the dry season, make it difficult to say which of the 
two seasons will afford the rarest botanical and floral treat 
to the traveler ; at any and every season the vegetation is 
varied, luxuriant, and gorgeous beyond comparison. There 
are, besides, at almost every step, objects novel and inter- 
esting among the riches of the animal kingdom, and also in 
the varied geological formations displayed along the line 
of the road ; in fact, few locations in the world present a 
more promising field of research for the botanist, the geol- 
ogist, or the student of natural history. Eminent scien- 
tific men from the United States, England, and Germany 
have already spent considerable time and labor in explora- 
tions here, but the results of their researches have not as 
yet been given to the public. As, however, few travelers 



86 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

over the road have any opportunity other than that afford- 
ed by the rapid railway transit to examine the objects of 
interest on its course, a brief account of the more promi- 
nent and readily recognized will perhaps be deemed suffi- 
cient for the general reader. 

In making the journey over the railroad to the Pacific 
terminus, starting at the depot at Aspinwall, a third of a 
mile brings you to that part of the island shore where the 
railway leaves it, and crosses over the frith to the swamps 
of the main land. At this point, which is crossed by an 
artificial isthmus (built originally of piles and crib-work, 
but since replaced by solid stone and earth), the channel is 
about two hundred yards in width, broadening rapidly to 
the eastward into a miniature archipelago, with a dozen 
little islands overgrown with mangrove bushes, and lying 
upon its glassy surface like emeralds upon a mirror. To 
the westward it again expands into a wide, placid basin, 
only separated by a narrow belt of foliage from the waters 
of the bay. The shores on every hand are skirted with a 
dense growth of mangrove bushes, which droop deep into 
the water, while directly in front, through the vista opened 
by the railway, an apparently interminable forest meets the 
eye. These waters abound in the beautiful varieties offish 
known among the natives as "flores del mar," or "the 
flowers of the sea:" in shape and size they resemble the 
sun-fish of our Northern lakes, and are remarkable for their 
varied and brilliant colors. 

The mangrove bushes are not unlike the banyan-tree in 
the manner of their growth. Their branches, shooting down- 
ward, frequently enter the soil, take root, and, interlacing 
again and again, form a barrier requiring a stout hatchet or 
machete to overcome. Many of the branches which dip 
into the water are loaded with a variety of the Crustaceae, 
almost, if not quite, identical with our Northern oysters, va- 
rying in size from a dime to a dollar : several pounds often 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 89 

depend from a single bough. Submerged by every tide, 
they are well nourished and exceedingly palatable, and, al- 
though so small, well worth the trouble of opening. En- 
glish snipe, plover, teal, heron, and pelican are abundant 
about here at certain seasons. 

About a mile farther on, to the left of a spur of high 
land, through which the railway passes by a deep long cut, 
is seen the tall forest of Mount Hope, upon which is located 
the general cemetery of Aspinwall. A pleasant winding 
path through the thick undergrowth soon brings you upon 
the spot. Dense foliage surrounds it on every side. This 
place was selected for a burial-ground shortly after the 
commencement of the road, and many victims to the hard- 
ships of the work and the virulence of the climate were then 
buried here ; but those days of trial have passed, and the 
long grass waving over their graves tells of the years since 
then. A few are recent, and marked by simple monu- 
ments ; among them will be noticed several of the officers 
of the United States Home Squadron. The lamented 
Strain (whose suffering and heroism as the leader of the ill- 
fated Darien expedition are still fresh in the memory of his 
countrymen) lies buried here. The surrounding woods, es- 
pecially toward evening and in the early morning, are vocal 
with the notes of numerous birds. The sweet and sonorous 
whistle of the turpiale and the cooing of the turtle-dove 
mingle with the harsh cries of the parrot tribe and the still 
harsher note of the toucan. Frequent opportunities occur 
of procuring these different varieties of birds from the na- 
tives, as they are more or less numerous along the entire 
line of the road, and become domesticated with little trouble. 
The turpiale, which is about the size of a robin, with deep 
black and bright yellow plumage, is quite equal to the mag- 
pie in intelligence and cunning, and is one of the finest 
whistlers known. The toucan, a dark scarlet-breasted bird, 
about the size of a pigeon, with a heavy serrated bill six or 



90 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

seven inches in length, is one of the ornithological curiosi- 
ties of this region ; picking up its food on the point of its 
huge beak, by a sudden jerk it tosses it up half a yard, and 
as it falls catches it deep in its throat ; it also makes extra- 
ordinary motions over the water when attempting to drink. 
The habits of the toucan in this respect were noticed by the 
early Spanish- American priests, who, averring that this bird, 
in drinking, made the sign of the cross over the water, called 
it "Dios te de" (God gives it thee). Considerable land in 
the vicinity of Mount Hope has been cleared, and cultivated 
with success and profit. Proceeding along the track be- 
yond Mount Hope, you begin to bring more fully into view 
the wondrous wealth of the Isthmian forest. For a space 
of fifty feet on either side of the solid track embankment 
the original growth has been swept away and replaced by 
a rich display of aquatic plants, through whose broad shin- 
ing leaves myriads of callas and long, slim-petaled pond- 
lilies struggle out to fill the air with their delicious per- 
fume. This low and recent vegetation is walled in by a 
primeval growth of a variety and luxuriance that almost 
defies description. Palm-trees, slender and tall, from under 
whose crowns hang long scarlet and yellow tassels ; palms, 
low and huge, with trunks scarce lifted above the slimy 
ooze, sending out graceful pinnate leaves half a dozen yards 
in length ; great cedro and espabe trees, towering up like 
giants for a hundred feet, then sending out strong arms 
that almost clasp each other across the clearing, their trunks 
covered with thick vines and parasites. These and many 
other varieties are so closely set and interwoven together 
that the eye fails to penetrate into the depths of the forest. 
The great number and variety of parasitic growths can not 
fail to attract constant attention. Almost every tree and 
shrub supports more or less of these treacherous leeches, in 
form and size ranging from the simple tuft of grass to the 
enormous growths whose branches equal in magnitude those 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 91 

of the largest trees, and frequently exceed those of the poor 
victim from which their strength is drawn. Some are seen 
which had originally taken root upon the trunks of large 
and thrifty trees, which, under their exhausting demands 
and vice-like embrace, have died and rotted out, leaving the 
well-conditioned leech, though a mere shell, upright, and so 
like the original tree that, except for occasional apertures 
which discloses the hollowness within, their villainy might 
at a little distance escape detection. Many bear beautiful 
and fragrant flowers. A curious and exceedingly common 
variety springs from seeds deposited in the ordure of birds 
upon the highest trees, sending long fibrous tendrils, with- 
out a single branching twig, down to the earth, when it 
again takes root, and increases in size until it frequently at- 
tains a diameter of five or six inches. Often trees, so de- 
cayed that otherwise they must have fallen, are by these 
supports retained in their upright position for many years. 
The smaller ones, combining pliability with great strength, 
are much used as cordage by the natives. Trailing vines 
and blossoming creepers are on every side in great profu- 
sion and luxuriance, enwrapping the trees and hanging in 
variegated festoons from the branches. As you proceed, 
every moment new, and, if possible, richer varieties of vege- 
tation pass in quick review, until you are almost lost in 
wonder and admiration. At about three miles from the 
terminus a bend is cut off in the small sluggish stream, 
called the Mindee, whose waters are half concealed by the 
overhanging verdure ; along its banks the tall and graceful 
bamboo, that giant of the grasses, adds a new beauty to the 
scene. The waters of the Mindee, which empties into Navy 
Bay about a mile and a half from Aspinwall, abound with 
alligators, often of great size, which afford plenty of exciting 
sport to parties from the city, who make occasional incur- 
sions upon them, and to the natives, who value them greatly 
for their oil, which is used for medication, and their teeth, 



92 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

which are worn as potent charms. Not unfrequently these 
ugly beasts crawl out into the pools along the railway 
track, where they may be seen basking in the sun, scarce- 
ly deigning to lift their unwieldy heads as the train thun- 
ders by. 

In the immediate vicinity of the Mindee some of the 
lands are dry enough to be susceptible of tillage. Native 
huts may here and there be' seen near the road surrounded 
by patches of plantains, bananas, Indian-corn, and sugar- 
cane. Beyond this the forest vegetation is varied and en- 
riched by a species of the palm, from the fruit of which the 
palm-oil of commerce is extracted. It differs little in form 
from the tasseled variety which has been previously no- 
ticed, except that it attains a greater size, and, instead of 
the gaudy tassel, bears immense clusters of scarlet nuts 
about as large as a lime ; the clusters, shooting out from the 
trunk of the tree just underneath its foliage, hang by a sin- 
gle stem, and are often two or three feet in length, con- 
trasting vividly with the surrounding verdure. The palm- 
tree, that prince of the vegetable kingdom, which is so 
characteristic of tropical vegetation, is nowhere more abun- 
dant in variety and beauty than upon the Isthmus, no less 
than twenty-one varieties having already been found and 
classified here. Conspicuous among them for their practi- 
cal use to the natives of the country are the "wine palm," 
from the sap of which is distilled a sweet and intoxicating 
beverage; the "motombo," or sago palm, which furnishes 
the sago ; the "ivory palm," producing the vegetable ivory- 
nut of commerce; the "glove palm," which furnishes, by 
the covering of its spatha, ready-made bags, capable of 
holding grain, etc., to the amount of nearly half a bushel ; 
the "cabbage palm," the tender shoots upon the summit 
of which resemble in appearance and nutritiousness the or- 
dinary cabbage ; others also there are from which they man- 
ufacture flax, sugar, various domestic utensils, weapons, and 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 95 

food ; besides this, the habitations of the people are framed 
of their trunks and roofed with their leaves. 

Passing the seventh mile-post, you emerge from the 
swamp, and come to the Gatun Station, located upon the 
eastern bank of the Kio Chagrcs, which is at this point 
about fifty yards in width, and here makes a great bend, 
opening beautiful vistas through the dense forests up and 
down its course. This bank of the river is formed by a 
ridge of low hills, across the foot of which the railway runs. 
A few yards from the road, on the high ground to the left, 
are the buildings of the station. A large, two-story framed 
building, about forty feet in length by thirty in breadth, 
surrounded by piazzas and balustrades, is the residence of 
the local superintendent and the foreign workmen employ- 
ed on this section. Suitable out-buildings are situated in 
the rear, and a little garden in front, where the roses and 
peonies, the pinks and pansies of our northern clime, chal- 
lenge comparison with the orchids, fuchsias, and passifloras 
of the tropics ; and there are radishes, cucumbers, and let- 
tuce contrasting curiously with the native products of the 
place. With a few unimportant exceptions, this establish- 
ment is similar to that of all the stations, which are situ- 
ated about four miles distant from each other along the en- 
tire length of the road. The duty of the local superintend- 
ent is not only to keep the track along his section in per- 
fect repair, but to give his personal attention to all matters 
which can in any way impede the safety or dispatch of the 
regular trains ; and to this ample service, in a great meas- 
ure, is due the immunity from accident which has charac- 
terized the running of the Panama Eailroad from its first 
establishment to the present day. On the opposite shore 
of the river stands the ancient native town of Gatun, which 
is composed of forty or fifty huts of cane and palm, and sit- 
uated on the edge of a broad savanna that extends back 
to a range of hills a mile or two distant. This place is 



96 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

worthy of mention as a point where, in the days by-gone, 
the bongo-loads of California travelers used to stop for re- 
freshment on their way up the river; where "eggs were then 
sold four for a dollar, and the rent for a hammock was two 
dollars a night." 

From Gatun the course of the road lies along the base 
of an irregular line of high lands that rise up from the 
eastern side of the valley of the Eio Chagres, and a few 
hundred yards brings you to the Eio Gatun, a tributary 
of the Chagres, which is crossed by an iron truss-girder 
bridge of ninety-seven feet span. The dense swamp-growth 
looms up on either side like a wall, while rising out of it, 
close on the left, are two fine conical peaks, called" Lion" 
and "Tiger" hills, which attract attention by the regu- 
larity of their outlines and the dense and gorgeous for- 
ests with which they are covered. These hills x received 
their titles from the immense numbers of howling monkeys 
which inhabited this district previous to and during the 
construction of the road, and whose frequent roaring made 
the night hideous, and were often mistaken by the unin- 
itiated for the formidable animals which their cries close- 
ly resembled. These, as well as several smaller varieties, 
still abound in the neighborhood, and their howlings at 
nightfall are frequently heard, but the progress of improve- 
ment has driven them from the immediate vicinity of the 
road. 

Passing the Lion Hill Station, which has a fine cultivated 
clearing on the high ground behind it, the vegetation be- 
comes less dense, and more decidedly aquatic in its char- 
acter ; large patches of cane-brake, huge tree-ferns, low 
palms in great variety, and scrubby mangroves, rise out of 
the dark pools in the swamps by the road-side. Along 
this section is found that rare variety of the Orchid family, 
the Peristera elata, known as the " Espiritu Santo." Its blos- 
som, of alabaster whiteness, approaches the tulip in form, and 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 07. 

gives forth a powerful perfume not unlike that of the mag- 
nolia ; but it is neither for its beauty of shape, its purity 
of color, nor its fragrance that it is chiefly esteemed. Rest- 
ing within the cup of the flower, so marvelously formed 
•that no human skill, be it never so cunning, could excel the 
resemblance, lies the prone image of a dove. Its exqui- 
sitely moulded pinions hang lifeless from its sides, the head 
bends gently forward, the tiny bill, tipped with a delicate 
carmine, almost touches its snow-white breast, while the 
expression of the entire image (and it requires no stretch 
of the imagination to see the expression) seems the very in- 
carnation of meekness and ethereal innocence. No one 
who has seen it can wonder that the early Spanish Catho- 
lic, ever on the alert for some phenomenon upon which to 
fasten the idea of a miraculous origin, should have bowed 
down before this matchless flower, and named it " Flor del 
Espiritu Santo," or "the Flower of the Holy Ghost," nor 
that the still more superstitious Indian should have accepted 
the imposing title, and ever after have gazed upon it with 
awe and devotional reverence, ascribing a peculiar sanctity 
even to the ground upon which it blossoms, and to the very 
air which it ladens with its delicious fragrance. It is found 
most frequently in low and marshy grounds, springing 
from decayed logs and crevices in the rocks. Some of the 
most vigorous plants attain a height of six or seven feet : 
the leaf-stalks are jointed, and throw out broad lanceolate 
leaves by pairs ; the flower-stalks spring from the bulb, and 
are wholly destitute of leaves, often bearing a cluster of 
not less than a dozen or fifteen flowers. It is an annual, 
blooming in July, August, and September, and has in sev- 
eral instances been successfully cultivated in the conserva- 
tories of foreign lands. In former times bulbs of the plant 
could rarely be obtained, and then only with much labor 
and difficulty; but since their localities have become fa- 
miliar to the less reverential Anglo-Saxon, great numbers 

E 



98 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

have been gathered and distributed throughout different 
parts of the world, though their habits and necessities have 
been so little appreciated that efforts to bring them to 
flower usually prove ineffectual ; if, however, they are pro- 
cured in May or June, after the flower-stalk has started, when 
sufficient appropriate nutriment resides in the bulb to de- 
velop the perfect flowers, they can be safely transplanted, 
and will flower under the ordinary treatment adapted to 
the bulbous plants of colder climates. The bulbs, dried or 
growing, may be procured either at Aspinwall or Panama 
at from two to five dollars per dozen. 

The next station is called "Ahorca Lagarto," "to hang 
the lizard," deriving its name from a landing-place on the 
Chagres near by ; this, again, named from having, years 
back, been pitched upon as an encampment by a body of 
government troops, who suspended from a tree their ban- 
ner, on which was a lizard, the insignia of the Order of 
Santiago. The land around this station, though low and 
level, is covered with a noble forest-growth, among which 
is found the huge cedro-tree, from which the native hollows 
out his canoe, sometimes of fifteen or twenty tons burthen ; 
its broad, plane-shaped roots extend out on every side like 
buttresses, and its trunk towers up, without a branch, for a 
hundred feet, supporting a canopy of foliage often fifty 
yards in diameter. A short distance from the station, 
close to the left side of the track, is one called " Stephens's 
Tree," not less than five or six yards in diameter at its 
base. A luxuriant growth of vines decorates its trunk, 
and, winding out upon its branches, hangs down like a 
thickly-woven curtain to the lesser growth beneath. Its 
trunk is studded with parasites, and usually fine specimens 
of the Orchidaceae may be seen blooming among its foliage. 
Several varieties of mahogany are also found here, and 
occasionally the lignum-vitse-tree ; the most of the trees, 
however, are only known by local names, which can convey 




RTEPHKNe'8 TREE, 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 103 

to the traveler but little idea of their character. Along 
the track may be seen the sensitive plant, with its feath- 
ery pink blossoms growing in wild profusion. The wild 
pine-apple, a species of Agave, is also abundant. This 
plant is similar in form and growth to the cultivated pine- 
apple, except that the leaves are often eight or ten feet in 
length, and afford a vegetable fibre which makes excellent 
cloth ; the fruit, which is edible and not unpleasant, is of 
the most brilliant scarlet, and forms a beautiful contrast 
with the surrounding foliage. A mile or so farther on 
the forest becomes less lofty, and the traveler soon passes 
what may easily be mistaken for the overgrown ruins of 
some ancient city: walls, watch-towers, tall columns, and 
Gothic arches are on either hand, and it will be difficult to 
realize that Nature alone, with a lavish and fantastic hand, 
has shaped this curious scene out of myriads of convolvuli ; 
whole clumps of trees are covered in by them, so that they 
appear like the remains of huge fortifications ; tall stumps 
of palm look like broken columns overgrown with verdure ; 
and when they lean together, as in several instances is the 
ease, great Gothic arches are formed. So dense is this en- 
shrouding web of creepers that scarce a tree or branch can 
be recognized through it over a space of several acres, and 
the whole of this wondrous display is, at certain seasons, 
decorated with bright blue trumpet-shaped flowers. 

Leaving behind this city of verdure, a chain of high, and 
densely- wooded hills on the left is brought into view, and, 
winding along its base, another station, called "Bujio Sol- 
dado," or " Buyo Soldado" (" the Soldier's Home"), is passed. 
Here opens, on the right, a fine view up the Eio Chagres. 
A mile farther on is an excellent quarry of freestone along- 
side the track, from which large quantities of building and 
ballasting material have been quarried by the Company. 
A little farther on, upon the edge of the steep river bank, 
is the site of a cottage, notable as having been the favorite 



104 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

residence of the late J. L. Stephens, the celebrated author 
and traveler, who spent much of his later life in developing 
this great railway enterprise ; but little now remains ex- 
cept its ruins, and the stately palm that long ago threw its 
shadow over his once beautiful garden. From this point 
beautiful views up and down the river are visible, while 
across, the high opposing bank stretches back in a broad 
plateau, covered with low foliage, from among which occa- 
sional tall trees shoot up, until it meets a range of distant 
hills. Continuing your course, with an occasional view of 
the river, which winds like a great serpent along this tor- 
tuous valley, you soon come to the native town of "Bueno 
Yistita" ("beautiful little view"). This is a collection of 
thirty or forty rude palm huts, skirting the track, and occu- 
pied by the families of native laborers along the road. A 
few native women, bareheaded, in long, heavily-flounced 
muslin dresses, off at the shoulder, and usually a naked 
"picaninny" astride the hip, forms the chief feature of the 
population, while the balance is made up of dogs, pigs, chick- 
ens, and children, in a charming state of affiliation. Yery 
few of the aborigines of the country are found on this por- 
tion of the Isthmus, the inhabitants being, for the most part, 
a mixture of Spaniard and Indian. There are, however, 
many Africans and half-breeds, descended from the old 
Spanish slaves of this province, or imported from Cartha- 
gena and Jamaica. The former, usually peaceable and in 
dustrious, cultivate little patches of land, and occasionally 
raise a few cattle ; but the latter are a restless, turbulent set, 
requiring a strong hand to keep them in subjection ; being, 
however, hardy and athletic, they have been much employ- 
ed as laborers on the road. A glance into the huts of these 
people and at their surroundings will give an idea of the 
manner of living of the greatest portion of the native inhab- 
itants of the country. The body of the dwelling is com- 
posed of bamboo ; the roof is thatched with leaves of the 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



107 



palm ; the floor is the bare earth ; occasionally there is a 
loft, which is reached by an upright post, with deep notches 
cut on either side answering for stairs. Hammocks of veg- 
etable fibre or cotton cloth are the usual beds, which also 
constitute the favorite lounging-place during the day. Be- 
sides these, a rude bench or two, a kettle, half a dozen 
earthen platters and water-jars, and a few gourds for water, 
complete the furniture of the native hut. Sun-dried and 
fresh beef, and pork, eggs, and fowls, are cheap and plenty. 
Their food, however, is mostly vegetable, the yam and plan- 
tain holding the chief place. The bread-fruit is plentiful, 
and grows spontaneously. Bice is raised, and consumed to 
a considerable extent; and a large variety of tropical fruits 




THE AVOCADO PEAK. 



are abundant. Besides the pine-apple, orange, lemon, lime, 
and banana, which arrive at great perfection here, there 



108 . HAND-BOOK OF THE 

are many kinds of fruit seldom seen out of the tropics, 
which are delicious and wholesome ; the bread-fruit, the av- 
ocado or alligator pear, the papaya, the Mamei and star-ap- 
ples, the chirimoya, the mango, the zapote, the granadilla 
(fruit of the passion- vine), and many others, growing spon- 
taneously or with the most careless cultivation. 

The Spanish language is universally spoken by the na- 
tives, greatly corrupted, however, by provincialisms. In 
disposition the native is usually peaceable and inoffensive. 
The Eoman Catholic religion is universally professed, but 
their ideas of it, beyond a superstitious appreciation of the 
power and influence of the priests, and the efficacy of holy 
relics and tokens, are exceedingly limited. 

Squatter sovereignty obtains here on a very liberal scale, 
each citizen being entitled to claim, occupy, and hold " all 
that lot, piece, or parcel of land" that can be distinctly seen 
from any given point thereon, of the unoccupied lands of 
the government. The Spaniard and half-breed frequently 
avail themselves of this privilege, carrying on cattle-raising 
to a considerable extent, besides occasionally producing a 
little sugar, rice, etc., for market. The general class of na- 
tives, however, are gregariously inclined, and seldom covet 
more than enough for a little hut and garden-patch which 
supplies the necessities of life. 

Passing a couple of miles more of forest, intersected by 
one or two small tributaries of the Chagres Eiver, you ar- 
rive at the Frijoli Station; here, during the dry season, 
may be seen the gorgeous scarlet passion-flower, as well as 
the purple variety, in great abundance. Occasionally small 
gangs of natives are seen engaged in clearing away the re- 
cent growths along the track with their machetas. The 
machete is a sort of hiltless broadsword, from two to three 
feet in length, heavy, straight, and pointed, with a handle of 
wood or bone, and is the universal companion of the native 
of this country ; with it he cuts his path through the tangled 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 109 

forest, clears his little plantation, builds his hut ; with it, too, 
he plants his crops and reaps them ; it is usually his only 
weapon of offense and defense ; and from the half-grown boy 
to the gray-headed patriarch, you seldom find one, waking 
or sleeping, without his cherished machete. This section is 
rich in its variety of the birds, beasts, reptiles, and insects 
peculiar to intertropical America. Here are found frequent 
colonies of the oriole, or hanging-bird, whose beautifully- 
woven nests, often two or three feet long, may be seen de- 
pending by scores from the trees. Several richly-colored 
varieties of parrots and toucans, trogons, tangers, humming- 
birds, etc., abound. Grouse and the crested wild turkey are 
found on the higher grounds of the interior. The tapir is 
occasionally found in the river and marshy grounds adjoin- 
ing. Monkeys in variety, the opossum, the ant-eater, the pec- 
cary, or wild hog, the sloth, the deer, bear, cougar, and two 
or three varieties of the tiger-cat, are native here. Among 
the many varieties of the lizard tribe which abound is the 
iguana, which grows to a large size, viz., from three to six 
feet in length, and is eagerly sought for by the natives for 
its flesh, which is tender and delicate as a chicken, and also 
for its eggs. Females of this species are sometimes cap- 
tured, cut open, the eggs removed, the animal permitted to 
escape, and the natives aver that after this barbarous pro- 
ceeding they uniformly recover. The eggs are about the 
size of a marble, yellow and shriveled, and may be seen 
hanging in bunches for sale in any native market, and are 
by no means unpalatable. Land-crabs abound in great 
numbers, and are esteemed a delicate article of food. The 
most common variety is of a pale blue color, and as large 
as half a cocoanut. Stories are told of their rapacity and 
carnivorous tastes that almost surpass belief. It is said that 
the largest animals, dead or wounded past resistance, are 
frequently reduced by them to whitened skeletons in a sin- 
gle night. There are several other smaller varieties, some 



110 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

of which are beautifully colored. Among the venomous 
insects, the tarantula, the centipede, and the scorpion are 
frequently met. Among the troublesome insects are white, 
red, and black ants, musquitoes, sand-flies, fleas, garapatos, 
or wood-ticks, and the chigoe, or jigger, which last not only 
bites, but burrows under the skin, and there deposits its 
eggs, which, if not speedily removed, will hatch out a troub- 
lesome nest of minute worms, producing great inflamma- 
tory disturbance in the part. As, however, they are at first 
very superficial, and inclosed in a little membranous sac, 
this is easily removed entire with a needle, and no farther 
trouble ensues ; they are fortunately not common here, and 
seldom annoy any but the barefooted native. Yenomous 
snakes, though occasionally seen, are not common. The 
boa constrictor is native here, and sometimes is found from 
twelve to eighteen feet in length; it is, however, exceed- 
ingly rare to hear of any serious injury having been done 
by any of them. The alligator, which is found more or 
less plentifully in all parts of the Chagres and its tributaries, 
and the adjacent streams and swamps, frequently attacks 
and destroys dogs and cattle, and occasional instances have 
occurred where the natives, imprudently venturing into the 
waters infested with them, have fallen a prey to their ra- 
pacity. 

Leaving Frijoli, fine fields of Indian-corn may be seen 
here and there nestled under the hills; dense groves of 
palms and superb displays of convolvuli are also found 
along this section for a couple of miles, when you approach 
the lofty banks of the Chagres at Barbacoas, and cross the 
river by a huge wrought-iron bridge six hundred and 
twenty-five feet in length, eighteen in breadth, and stand- 
ing forty feet above the surface of the water, and said to be 
one of the longest and finest iron bridges in the world. 
After crossing the Chagres at this point, instead of low 
grounds and virgin forests, a beautiful stretch of meadow- 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 115 

lands, bounded by high precipitous hills, meets the view ; 
while the river, broad and swift, curves around like a 
horseshoe through its deep channel on the left and behind, 
displaying along its banks groups of a gigantic species of 
branchless ceiba, that breaks the outline of dense palm and 
cocoa groves. • 

The cultivation of the lands at this point is said to date 
back for more than two centuries, and to have been worked 
originally by the Jesuits. At about half a mile from the 
bridge the San Pablo Station is passed, and a little farther 
on a fine quarry of recent volcanic rock; from thence, 
through occasional cleared and cultivated lands, you pass 
to the station at Mamei and the native town of Gorgona, 
noted in the earlier days of Chagres Eiver travel as a place 
where the wet and jaded traveler was accustomed to worry 
out the night on a raw hide, exposed to the insects and the 
rain, and in the morning, if he was fortunate, regale him- 
self on jerked beef and plantains. The road now, leaving 
the course of the river, passes on through deep clay banks 
and rocky cuts, presenting little novelty beyond the mag- 
nitude of the labor expended upon them in establishing 
the railway, until, sweeping around a hill, the beautiful 
meadow-lands of Matachin open to the view. Here, rising 
in their stateliness, the classic sheaves of the royal palm 
shed an air of Eastern beauty over the landscape. A na- 
tive village dots the foreground ; on the left the waters of 
the Chagres, broadened at this point by the Eio Obispo (its 
greatest tributary), is seen through the ceiba groves that 
skirt its banks, while on the right and in front the scene is 
bounded by a group of conical hills covered with short 
grass and studded with palms. The completion of the 
Panama Eailroad in 1855 was here celebrated with great 
ceremony and rejoicing, and the corner-stone of a monu- 
ment to its originators and constructors was erected upon 
the crest of the highest and most beautiful of these hills. 



116 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



The railway has several side branches at Matachin, and is 
the usual point of meeting for the trains from either ter- 
minus. As there is usually a little delay on such occasions, 
the natives take advantage of it to traffic with the pas- 
sengers. Almost every hut displays something for sale: 




NATIVE HUT AT MATACHLN. 



cakes, "dulces," or native candy, and the various fruits of 
the region. Here the oranges are unusually fine. There is 
also a saloon, kept by a native, where very good English 
beer, French claret, crackers and cheese, etc., may be ob- 
tained. From Matachin, passing along the base of u Monu- 
ment Hill" the narrow valley of the Kio Obispo is entered, 
and its waters are crossed by stout iron bridges twice with- 
in the distance of a mile ; then you pass the Obispo Station, 
and continue along the course of the Obispo River, over a 
fine rolling and luxuriant woodland, where the delicious 
wild mango, the zapote, the nispero, and the guava are fre- 



satafessyjia-^f. 




■ 






PANAMA RAILROAD. 121 

quently seen ; also occasional native huts, surrounded by 
cultivated fields. From the station at Obispo the grade is 
ascending, with a maximum of sixty feet to the mile. Con- 
tinuing to rise for about three miles, you pass the " Empire 
Station," and reach the "Summit," or highest elevation 
of the railway above the mean level of the Atlantic and 
Pacific Oceans. Here is a little native settlement called 
"Culebra" ("the Snake"), noted as having been the ter- 
minus of the road in 1854. Then, passengers arriving at 
this place by the cars from the Atlantic shore were com- 
pelled to mount upon mules, and flounder on through 
heavy sloughs and rapid streams, along the borders of deep 
ravines and over precipitous mountains, exposed to drench- 
ing rains in the wet season, and a broiling sun in the dry, 
not unfrequently attacked and plundered by banditti, with 
which the road was then infested, until, after a whole day's 
labor and peril, they arrived at Panama, only twelve miles 
distant. " Culebra" at that time was a thrifty place, boast- 
ing of two or three hotels, imported ready-made from the 
United States, into which often more than a thousand men, 
women, and children were promiscuously stowed for a 
night. There were also twenty or thirty native huts, 
about twelve feet square, each of which was considered 
of ample dimensions to house a dozen wayworn travelers, 
only too thankful to find a spot of dry ground upon which 
to spread their blankets ; but its glory has departed, and 
scarce a vestige remains to tell of its former estate. Prom 
Culebra the road passes through a deep clay cutting from 
twenty to forty feet in depth, and nearly a third of a mile 
in length. At this point commences the Pacific slope of 
the road, with a descending grade of sixty feet to the mile. 
The surrounding scenery now becomes bold and pictur- 
esque in the highest degree. Lofty conical mountains rise 
on every side from among the irregular ridges that form 
the upper boundaries of the Eio Grande. The course of 



122 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

the road now lies across steep rocky spurs and deep ra- 
vines between them and along their precipitous sides. High 
embankments and heavy cuttings are frequent. Here, also, 
the vegetation is profuse and gorgeous; tall forests cover 
the whole landscape as far as the eye can reach. At about 
a mile from the summit the road passes along the side of a 
huge basaltic cliff, whose great crystals, nearly a foot in di- 
ameter, and from eight to twelve feet in length, lie at an 
angle of about forty degrees. In the earlier days of the 
road this cliff presented a lofty, broken, and jagged appear- 
ance, that seemed almost to overhang and threaten the safe- 
ty of those passing along the track below. These great 
crystals of basalt, firm and compact, but easily dislodged, 
have been so extensively used in the ballasting of the road, 
etc., along this section, that the once grand and picturesque 
appearance of the cliff is almost entirely destroyed ; enough, 
however, remains to strike the beholder with admiring won- 
der, on contemplating this curious formation, at the still 
visible regularity and beauty of its crystallization, and with 
awe when he reflects upon the gigantic internal forces that 
have resulted in its upheaval. It is one of the few known 
examples in the world where the natural perpendicular 
which basaltic formations always assume (so beautifully seen 
in the Fid gal's Cave at Staffa, and along the " Palisades" 
of the Hudson) has been so rent and displaced. But this 
whole region gives unmistakable evidence that great and 
comparatively recent volcanic forces have been instrumental 
in its formation. There is no continuity of the mountain 
ranges ; conical peaks rise up on every side ; perfect ma- 
rine shells and coral are found on their very summits, and 
the strata of the rocks exposed by the cuttings of the rail- 
road are all volcanic. The Eio Grande at this point is a 
narrow and noisy torrent, winding along through the dense 
forests far below the track ; the caoba, the cedro, and the 
malvicino trees rise up like lords of the land over the end- 




BASALTIC CLIFF. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 127 

less growths of palm and the innumerable varieties of other 
tropical woods that interweave below them. After nearly 
three miles of this, the beautiful undulating valley of " Pa- 
raiso," or "Paradise," is reached, surrounded by high coni- 
cal hills, where Nature, in wild profusion, seems to have ex- 
pended her choicest wealth. From Paraiso the road con- 
tinues on over ravines, and curves around the base of fre- 
quent conical mountains, gradually descending until the 
low lands and swamps of the valley of the Eio Grande are 
passed, when looming up in the distance is seen the high, 
bald head of Mount Ancon, whose southern foot is washed 
by the waters of the Pacific Ocean. On the left rises " Cerro 
de los Buccaneros" ("the Hill of the Buccaneers"), from 
whose summit the pirate Morgan, on his marauding march 
across the Isthmus in 1670, had his first view of ancient 
Panama, and where he encamped on the night previous to 
his attack and pillage of that renowned city. Crossing by 
bridges of iron the San Pedro Miguel and the Caimitillo 
(narrow tide-water tributaries of the Eio Grande), the Eio 
Grande Station is passed. From thence, through alternate 
swamp and cultivated savanna, the muddy bed of the Eio 
Cardenas is crossed ; when, leaving the Eio Grande to the 
eastward, a fine stretch of undulating country around the 
base of Mount Ancon is brought into view, enlivened by 
native huts and cultivated fields. About a mile farther on 
may be seen the long metallic roofs of the railroad build- 
ings of the Pacific terminus peeping out from a grove of 
cocoa-trees, and a little beyond them, and to the right, the 
Cathedral towers, the high-tiled roofs and dilapidated forti- 
fications of the city of Panama, while through the inter- 
vening foliage occasional glimpses of the "ever peaceful 
ocean" assure the traveler that the transit of the Isthmus 
is nearly accomplished, and a few minutes more brings 
him safely into the spacious passenger depot of the Eail- 
road Company at Panama. 



128 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Passing through, the depot, and from thence directly on- 
ward to the sandy beach of the Bay of Panama, about fifty 
yards distant, a beautiful panorama opens upon the view. 
On the left are the commodious warehouses and the long, 
covered, iron-piled wharf of the Kailroad Company, along- 
side of which the small steamers and tugs he to take on or 
discharge passengers and freight for the larger vessels an- 
chored in the bay. Beyond the wharf a white sandy beach 
sweeps around a quarter circle of a couple of miles, skirted 
by tangled masses of foliage interspersed with groups of 
cocoa-trees. A ridge of high and broken, but heavily wood- 
ed land rises up behind, sloping down to the eastward to- 
ward the peaceful ocean, that stretches out to the horizon 
before you. On the right, the city, high- walled and turret- 
ed, stands boldly out into the ocean, like Balboa of old, as 
if still claiming dominion over the limitless expanse ; no 
longer bristling with defiant cannon or decked with the 
flaunting colors of the Conquistador, but deserted, crum- 
bling, and grass-grown, " mellowed into harmony by time." 
Within the walls a mass of high-tiled roofs, with here and 
there a dilapidated tower or pearl-shelled spire, combine 
to present a scene more beautiful than is often beheld. The 
city of Panama is peculiarly rich in historical associations 
connected with the early days of the Spanish rule in this 
country, and is full of the decayed monuments of its ancient 
splendor. 

Panama is situated in lat. 8° 56' K, and long. 79° 31' 
2" "W., upon a rocky peninsula that stretches out from the 
base of the high volcanic hill Ancon, and projects a quarter 
of a mile into the sea. It has at present a population of 
about 10,000 souls. Its roadstead is one of the finest in the 
world. At about two and a half miles northwest of the 
city are situated the beautiful islands of Perico, Flamen- 
co, and Islnao, the joint property of the Panama Eailroad 
and the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Companies, and are occu- 



!IB8ii I jpC- 

1- 




Hi;- 












'■m 



rj;::i! !j 



ll 




PANAMA RAILROAD. 133 

pied by them as the rendezvous of the California and Cen- 
tral American lines of steam-ships. These islands are well 
wooded, and abound in fine springs of water. Flamenco, 
the largest of the three (about half a mile in length by a 
third in breadth), has on its southern side a fine beach, 
which, as the tides here rise and fall from twelve to twenty- 
one feet, gives admirable facilities for the repairs of the 
shipping. Excellent and capacious anchorage exists here. 
The city of Panama previously to 174-1 (when the trade be- 
tween Europe and Western America first began to be car- 
ried on around Cape Horn) was the principal entrepot of 
trade on the Pacific coast. From that period, however, with 
the decline in the Spanish possessions in America, it became 
reduced in commercial importance almost to a nonentity, 
and so remained until the past few years. The establish- 
ment of the South Coast, the California, the Central Amer- 
ican steam-ship lines, and that by which all the business of 
these lines is carried on, the Panama Eailroad, have com- 
bined to render it again a place of considerable importance. 
At Panama there is a first-rate hotel, the Aspinwall House, 
probably the best on the Isthmus — charge three dollars per 
day. 

The site of the " City of Panama the Ancient" (which 
was destroyed by the buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan in 
1661) is located about six miles southeast of the present 
city, and is easily reached by water or land. If time per- 
mits, the traveler should by all means visit this spot. The 
ruins of its ancient fortifications, towers, churches, and pub- 
lic buildings are worthy of the attention of all interested in 
the early history of Central America, and will amply repay 
the antiquarian or the lover of the picturesque and beauti- 
ful the trouble of a visit to this most interesting of all the 
remains of Spanish greatness in this region. In the Ap- 
pendices following will be found, first, all information ap- 



134 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

pertaining to the regulations of the trains on the Panama 
Eailroad, the rates of passage and of the transportation of 
every kind of freight, and all general information in regard 
to the regulations of the road which will be likely to be of 
service to the traveler or the man of business. Also an ac- 
count of all its connections by sail and steam in the At- 
lantic and Pacific Oceans, their business regulations, and 
such information in regard to them and the countries and 
the places they connect with the road, as shall furnish a re- 
liable source of reference to all interested, displaying, as far 
as is practicable in a small compass, the resources of each 
country and place, and affording a means of ascertaining 
the expenses attendant upon either a visit to those regions, 
or of doing business with them in the most economical and 
intelligent manner. 




THE CATHEDEAL AT PANAMA. 



PANAMA HAILKOAD. 



139 



APPENDIX C. 

REGULATIONS OF THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 

The regular trains are dispatched daily, Sundays excepted, from Aspin- 
wall to Panama and from Panama to Aspinwall, as per time-table annexed : 



TO 


PAN ANA. 




STATIONS. 


TO ASPINWALL. 


Passenger. 


Freight. 


Miles. 


Miles. 


Pasdenger. 


Freight. 


Leave. 


Leave. 








Arrive. 


Arrive. 


8.15 A.M. 


2.00 P.M. 




Aspinwall 


47* 


1.00 P.M. 


5.30 P.M. 


8.50 " 


2.35 " 


h 


Gatun 


401- 


12.25 " 


4.55 " 


9.38 " 


3.20 " 


16 


Bujio 


31* 


11.45 " 


4.15 " 


10.00 " 


3.45 " 


22^ 


Barbacoas 


25 


11.15A.M. 


3.45 " 


10.40 " 


4.25 " 


30 


Matachin . 


17* 


10.40 " 


3.10 " 


11.20 " 


5.05 " 


37 


Summit... 


10* 


10.00 " 


2.30 " 


Arrive. 


Arrive. 








Leave. 


Leave. 


12.15 P.M. 


G.00 " 


471 


Panama... 




9.00 " 


1.30 " 



Besides these regular trains, special trains are always employed whenever 
the service can not be adequately performed by the regular trains. There 
are often as many as five and six in number daily for weeks together. 

Steamer Trains. — On the arrival of passenger steam-ships at Aspin- 
wall, special trains are dispatched at any hour, so soon as the passengers 
are landed, provided that the state of the tide at Panama is such that they 
can be embarked for the connecting steam-ship immediately on the arrival 
of the trains. This arrangement has been made solely with a view of afford- 
ing to the passenger the greatest degree of comfort and convenience con- 
sistent with dispatch. To those unacquainted with the cause, it may some- 
times appear that time is unnecessarily lost : the Company only consults the 
interest of the passenger in this respect, and no detention is allowed beyond 
what is absolutely necessary. On the arrival of passenger steam-ships at 
Panama, the trains are dispatched for Aspinwall immediately on the landing 
of the passengers, who here step from the steamer directly into the cars 
without detention. 



TAELFF OF EATES FOR PASSAGE AND FREIGHT. 

Price of passage through, $25. Children under 12 years, half price; 
under 6 years, quarter do. 

Special Rates of Freight. 

Acids — Muriatic, Sulphuric, and Nitric 5 cts. per lb. 

Baggage — passengers' (50 lbs. free) 10 cts. per lb. 

Carriages 20 cts. per cubic foot. 

Cartridges, with balls 5 cts. per lb. 

Cattle, at owners' risk, ordinary trains, over eight $5 each. 

" " " under eight $7 each. 

" steamer trains, owners' risk, special agreement $25 each. 

Coal $5 per ton of 2240 lbs. 

Cocoanuts $1 per hundred. 

Coke $7 per ton of 2240 lbs. 

Copper Ore in bags J-ths of one cent, per lb. 

Demijohns (empty) 50 cts. each. 

Dye-woods $7 per ton of 2240 lbs. 



140 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Express freight, by steamer trains = ...$1 80 per cubic foot. 

Furniture, such as tables, chairs, bureaus, bedsteads, etc... 25 cts. per cubic foot. 

Gold, in dust, coined, or manufactured £ per cent, on value. 

Gunpowder, separate cars 5 cts. per lb. 

Hides 15 cts. each. 

Horses, at owners' risk, special agreement $40 each. 

Jewelry i per cent.on value. 

Lumber— White Pine $10 per M. 

" Yellow Pine $12 per M. 

" Oak $15 per M. 

" Cedar and Mahogany $15 per M. 

Mules, at owners' risk, special agreement $20 each. 

Oil, Whale and Palm, toward the Atlantic 4 cts. per gallon. 

Patent Fuel $5 per ton of 2240 lbs. 

Pitch $1 per ban-el. 

Platina f per cent.on value. 

Poultry — Chickens, 75 cts. per dozen; Turkeys, $1 50 per dozen. 

Precious Stones f per cent.on value. 

Eosin $1 per barrel. 

Sheep, at owners' risk, by passenger trains $12£. 

Shingles , $3 per M. 

Silver, in bars, coined or manufactured f per cent, on value. 

Silver Ore i per cent, on value. 

Swine, at owners' risk $2 each. 

Tar $1 per barrel. 

Tin Ores J- of one cent per lb. 

Quicksilver 50 cts. per iron flask. 

Classification of Freight. 
First class freight, comprising merchandise, in boxes 

and bales, not otherwise enumerated 50 cts. per cubic foot. 

Second class freight, as per description annexed \\ cts. per lb. 

Third " " " " " .1 ct. per lb. 

Fourth " " " " " f of act. per lb. 

Fifth " " " " " \ act. per lb. 

Sixth » " " " " i of act. per lb. 

All articles not specially named to be assimilated. 

FIRST CLASS — 50 CENTS PER CUBIC FOOT. 

Bonnets, Books, Boots. 

Caps, Cards (playing), Cassia lignea, Cigars, Cinnamon, Clothing. 

Drugs, Dry Goods, not elsewhere enumerated. 

Eau de Cologne, Essences, Essential Oils. 

Feathers, Fire- works, Flannel; Furs, not otherwise enumerated. 

Glass Shades and Looking-glasses, at owners' risk; Glassware, fine, stained, 
and plate, at owners' risk ; Gloves. 

Harness ; Hats, fur or felt, and of Guayaquil or Panama straw ; Hosiery. 

Light goods, not elsewhere specified. 

Matches, Medicines, Millinery, Musical Instruments. 

Oil-cloth, Organs. 

Paintings and Engravings, Paper Hangings, Paper, writing and printing ; 
Peltry, not elsewhere specified ; Percussion Caps, Perfumery, Pianos, Por- 
celain and China-ware, fine. 

Saddlery, Shoes, Silks, Stationery ; Statuary, at owners' risk. 

Toys and Fancy Goods. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 141 

SECOND CLASS — 1\ CENTS PER POUND. 

Alcohol, Almonds, Anchovies, Aniseed. 

Balsams, Baskets, Beeswax, Brandy, Britannia-ware. 

Carpeting; Chandeliers, at owners' risk; Chocolate, Clocks, Cochineal, Con- 
fectionery, Cordials, Corks and Corkwood. 

Eggs. 

Fire-arms, Fruits (dried). 

German Silver-ware, Gin, Groceries, not elsewhere specified. 

Indigo. 

Lamps (ornamental), Liquors of all kinds. 

Mattresses. 

Nuts, not elsewhere specified. 

Picture-frames, Plated Goods, Platform Scales, Preserved Meats and Fruits. 

Rum. 

Sardines, Soap (fancy), Straw for manufacturing. 

Tea, Tobacco (manufactured), Tortoise-shell, Treenails, Trees and Plants in 
mats. 

Varnish in tins ; Veneers. 

Wooden-ware. 

THIRD CLASS — 1 CENT PER POUND. 

Bagging, Balsam of Copaivi, Bark, Blankets, Brooms, Brushes, Burlaps. 

Candles, Cutlery. 

Domestics, unbleached, of cotton, in bales. 

Gravestones. 

Hay in compressed bales ; Hemp, manufactures of, such as Canvas, Dowlas, 

and Osnaburgs. 
Leather, dressed. 
Nails, copper and brass. 

Oil (toward Pacific), Ornaments of Stone, Clay, Marble, Alabaster. 
Paints, dry and in oil. 
Sarsaparilla, Spirits of Turpentine. 

Tacks, Tin-ware ; Tobacco, manufactured ; Tubing, copper and brass ; Type. 
Whalebone, Wines ; Wire, copper and brass ; Wool of alpaca or vicuna. 

FOURTH CLASS — f CENT PER POUND. 

Agricultural Implements, Ale. 

Bacon in casks ; Beef, Blacking, Borax, Bottles (empty), Bread, Butter. 

Castings of copper, brass, or bronze ; Cheese, Cider, Copper Sheathing and 
Spikes, Copperas ; Cotton in compressed bales ; Cotton Waste, Crackers ; 
Crockery, not elsewhere specified. 

Deer-skins in bales. 

Earthen-ware in casks or crates. 

Felt (for sheathing), Fish, Flour. 

Grindstones, Glassware (coarse), Window-glass, etc. ; Goat-skins in bales. 

Hams in casks ; Hardware ; Hats, coarse country straw or palm leaf; Hemp, 
unmanufactured ; Herrings, Hollow- ware (iron), Hoops of wood or iron. 

India-rubber. 

Lard. 

Machetas, Machinery, Mats, Matting, Meal, Millstones, Molasses. 

Oakum, Oats, Orchilla Weed. 

Pickles, Pork (salt), Porter, Potatoes. 

Rice, Rope. 

Safes (iron), Sago, Salt, Screws, Seeds, Sheep-skins in bales, Shot (in bags). 
Shovels, Sirups, Soap (common), Soda-water, Spades, Steel in bars and bun- 
dles, Stoves, Sugar, Sugar-mills, -moulds, and -pans. 



142 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Tallow ; Tea (toward Atlantic) ; Tool-handles, Twine. 

Vegetables, Vices (iron), Vinegar. 

Window Glass, Wire (brass and copper), Wool of sheep. 

Yarn (of cotton). 

Zinc in sheets. 

FIFTH CLASS \ CENT PER POUND. 

Anchors, Anvils. 
Bananas, Beans. 
Cables (iron), Cannon, Cannon Balls and Shot (iron), Cocoa, Coffee, Copper 

in bars, Corn (Indian), Crowbars. 
Fruits of the Isthmus not otherwise enumerated. 
Hollow Shot, Hoop Iron. 
Ice, in quantity ; Iron (old), Iron Bars and Pipes, Iron Boiler-plates, Iron 

Cables, Iron Castings (not machinery), Iron Tubing, Iron in bars. 
Lead in pigs, sheet, and pipes, Lemons, Limes. 
Nails (iron). 

Old Junk (rope), Oranges. 
Pearl-shells in sacks ; Peas, Plantains. 
Sheet Iron, Spikes (iron). 
Zinc, ingots. 

SIXTH CLASS — £ CENT PER POUND. 

Borate of Lime, Brick. Cement. 

Guano in bags. Iron in pigs. Lime. 

Marble for building purposes, including flooring tiles and paving. 

Nitrate of Soda in bags. 

Stone for building purposes, including paving-stones. 

Special Conditions. 

Freight to be charged on the gross weight of packages, and to be paid in 
advance or before delivery of goods. 

All claims for loss or damage to be presented within five days, otherwise 
they will not be paid. 

The Company will not be responsible for articles of extra value, beyond 
$100 per package, unless declared and way-billed accordingly. 

No package, however small, will be transported for less than one dollar. 

The Company will not be responsible for the breakage or loss of contents 
of any demijohn or jug. 

Storage will be charged on all goods remaining in the Company's store- 
houses, after twenty-four hours, unless by special agreement. 

Joseph F. Jot, Secretary. 

N.B. — Goods shipped for California under through bills of lading must 
be corded and sealed at the New York Custom-house, or they will be liable 
to the payment of duties in San Francisco. 

RATES OF COINAGE TO BE RECEIVED AND PAID OUT BY THE PANAMA 
RAILROAD COMPANY. 

Gold Coin. 



Spanish doubloons $16 00 

Peruvian " 15 50 

Bolivian " 15 50 

Chilian " 15 50 

NewGranadian ditto, (old).... 15 50 
Columbian doubloons 15 50 



Mexican doubloons $15 50 

Ecuadorian " 15 50 

New Granadian doubloons, 

new coinage 14 00 

Costa Bican and Central Amer- 
ican doubloons 13 60 



Fractional parts in proportion. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 143 



Ten-guilder pieces $3 80 

Condors, New Granadian 8 50 

Condors, Chilian 8 00 



Gold 20 franc pieces $3 80 

Gold 10 franc pieces 1 90 

English sovereigns 4 85 

English half sovereigns 2 42? 

Fractional parts in proportion. 
United States gold and silver at par. 

Silver Coin. 
Spanish dollars, $1 00 ; half dollars, 40 cents ; quarter dollars, 20 cents. 
Mexican dollars, $1 00 ; half dollars, 40 cents ; quarter dollars, 20 cents. 
Fractional parts in proportion. 

New Granadian dollars of 5 franc value $0 95 

French 5 franc pieces 95 

Fractional parts as heretofore. 

Peruvian and Chilian dollars (new coinage) 90 

Bolivian dollars (old coinage) 1 00 

Bolivian half dollars and quarters not received. 
N.B. — Smooth coin not received. 

WHARFAGE, LIGHTERAGE, AND HARBOR REGULATIONS. 

A pier, 450 feet in length, has been built in the Bay of Panama, to the 
end of which freight cars are run, to receive cargoes from lighters or vessels 
lying alongside, and deliver the same on board of vessels at Aspinwall. Ves- 
sels of from 200 to 300 tons can lie alongside the pier with safety, grounding 
in the mud at low water. 

Iron launches of the capacity of 100 tons each have been built by the 
Company to load and discharge vessels whose draught of water prevents 
them from coming to the pier. These launches are towed to and from the 
pier by a powerful steam-tug. The charge for lighterage is one and a half dol- 
lars per ton. 

At Aspinwall vessels load and discharge at the wharves. A fire-proof 
stone warehouse, 300 feet long by 85 feet wide, has been built for the use of 
the Company. 

Regidations in regard to Freight. 

1. All freight intended for the morning train must be delivered at the freight- 
houses of the Company before 5 P.M. on the day previous. The hours for 
receiving and delivering freight are from 7 to 9 A.M., from 10 A.M. until 
2 P.M., and from 3 until 5 P.M. 

2. No article will be transported over the road unless it is legibly and prop- 
erly directed. Packages in bad order may be declined by the freight agent 
until properly repaired ; or, if received in bad order, it will be so noted on 
the receipt given by the freight agent. 

3. Goods will not be received for transportation without a freighting or- 
der from the shipper unless by special agreement. Shippers will deliver with 
their goods a bill of items, signed by themselves or agents, forms for which 
can be obtained on application to the freight agents. The freighting orders 
will be compared with the goods by the freight agent, and if found correct, a 
receipt will be given by him for the same, subject to the rules of the Com- 
pany. 

4. Freight deposited outside, or under the Company's sheds, remains at 
owners' risk until delivered into cars or freight-house, unless otherwise ex- 
pressly agreed to ; and freight agents will not receipt for goods unless so de- 
livered. 

5. Goods for transportation over the road will be received in their turn, 



144 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

according to priority of delivery, and will remain at owners' risk until exam- 
ined, compared, and receipted for. Goods for the Company's vessels will 
also be shipped in order of priority, heavy goods excepted, a sufficient quan- 
tity of which may first be put on board to make proper stowage. 

6. No article will be delivered from the Company's freight-houses without 
a receipt or order from the consignee or owner. Draymen and porters call- 
ing for goods must be furnished with an order by the consignee, upon whom 
their receipts will be binding. 

7. The Company will not be responsible for articles of extra value beyond 
$100 per package, unless declared and way-billed accordingly. 

8. Freight will be charged on the gross weight of packages ; and no pack- 
age, however small, will be transported over the road for less than one dollar. 

9. The Company will not be responsible for breakage or leakage of any 
description, the decay of any fruits or vegetables, the wastage of ice, or death 
of poultry or animals, from delay or detention on the road. 

10. All payments for transportation will be made at the freight offices in 
United States currency or its equivalent, at the rates established by the Com- 
pany (see pages 140, 141). 

11. The terms for transportation over the road are prepayment, or cash on 
delivery of the goods, which may be detained by the freight agent until pay- 
ment is made. 

12. Storage will be charged on all goods remaining in the Company's 
store-houses for a longer period than twenty-four hours, except under special 
arrangements, or when they are under through bills of lading authorized by 
the Company. 

Rates of Storage. 

The following are the rates of storage per week : 



Barrels 10 cts. each. 

Half do 5 " " 

Tobacco 10 " per bale. 

Hats 20 " "" " 



Boxes 10 cts. per bbl. bulk. 

Hides 1 ct. each. 

Corn 5 cts. per sack. 

Demijohns 20 " each. 



All articles not above enumerated to be assimilated and charged in pro- 
portion. 

13. Claims for loss or damage must be made within five days thereafter, 
and will be settled by the superintendent on application to him through the 
freight agents. A bill of the cost of articles lost will be required. 

14. When goods are forwarded from Panama to Aspinwall for shipment 
in other than the lines of vessels above named, the service of the Railroad 
Company ceases with their delivery at the freight-house in Aspinwall, as in 
the case of local traffic. 

The same principles apply also to the shipment of goods to ports on the 
Pacific, passing over the road from Aspinwall to Panama. 

15. "When goods are forwarded from Pacific ports for shipment at Aspin- 
wall by vessels not running in connection with the road, it is necessary for 
shippers to make arrangements for the payment of freight, transportation, 
and shipping expenses. 

16. Cargo arriving by the Central American steamers, unless under 
through bills of lading, must be received by the consignees on the wharf im- 
mediately after arrival ; otherwise it will be left there at owners' risk ; or, 
if deposited in the Company's store-houses, it will be at their risk and ex- 
pense. Cargo for the Central American steamers must be delivered at the 
freight-house for shipment, otherwise the Company will not be responsible 
for damage from rain or other cause. 

17. Consignees of goods at Aspinwall by the Company's line of sailing 
vessels will please attend and receive them when discharged, with as little de- 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 1^5 

lay as possible, the Company not being liable for any loss or damage after 
delivery from ship's tackles. 

18. When the goods of residents or agents at Panama arrive at Aspinwall 
from abroad for transportation over the road, and are consigned to them at 
Aspinwall, they must be delivered to the Company at their freight-house in 
the same manner and form as is usual with local traffic. This also applies 
to goods consigned to the Railroad Company at Aspinwall not shipped under 
through bills of lading. 

RATES OF WHARFAGE AND LIGHT MONEY. 
Wharfage. 

Vessels under 50 tons $0 75 per day. 

" over 50 " and under 100 150 " 

" " 100 " " 150 2 25 " 

" " 150 " " 200 2 50 " 

" " 200 " " 250 3 00 " 

" " 250 " " 300 3 25 " 

" " 300 " " 350 3 50 " 

11 " 350 " " 400 3 75 " 

And 25 cents per day for each additional 50 tons. 

Light Money. 

Vessels under 100 tons $1 each. 

" over 100 " and under 200 3 " 

" " 200 " " 300 5 " 

" " 300 " 7 " 

The above rates are calculated upon tonnage by American measurement, 
and payable in American currency or its equivalent. 

HARBOR REGULATIONS OF THE PORT OF ASPINWALL, N. G., ESTABLISHED 
BY THE PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY. 

1. All vessels entering the harbor of Aspinwall will be charged light fees, 
and all vessels coming to wharf will be charged wharfage, in proportion to 
tonnage, as per printed rates of the Panama Railroad Company annexed. 

2. Vessels using the donkey engines or mules of the Company (which can 
be had when not otherwise employed) will be charged as follows : 

Use of engine for cargo, per day $10 00 

" " "coal, "ton 15 

" mule " " " " 15 

3. No vessel will be allowed to hang at the outer buoys, as they are to be 
used solely for convenience in hauling in and out and making sail. 

4. Vessels entering the harbor will anchor outside of the line of buoys, 
where they will be visited by the harbor-master, who will assign them their 
berths. Regular lines of steamers or sailing vessels which have specified 
berths are exempt from the above rule. All vessels, after discharging, will 
also anchor outside the buoys. 

5. No iron chains are allowed to be used in making fast to the wharves, 
unless by express permission from the harbor-master, and vessels will be 
held liable for any damage done to the wharves by unnecessary chafing, 
neglect, etc. 

6. No coal-ashes, offal, or rubbish are to be thrown overboard by vessels 
at anchor in the harbor or at the wharves. 

7. Masters of vessels will be governed by the directions of the harbor-mas- 
ter in changing berths, hauling to buoys, anchoring in any part of the har- 
bor, etc., and are requested to notify him when wishing to haul, and also to 
give him at least six hours' notice before leaving port. 

Geo. M. Totten, Chief Engine er. 
(t 



146 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Through bills of lading are issued for merchandise from Europe and the 
Atlantic United States to Panama, San Francisco, Oregon, Washington Ter- 
ritory, etc., and also to the principal ports of South and Central America. 

Parties in Europe desiring to ship goods to Panama or ports on the Pa- 
cific, under through bills of lading, will please apply to John Hamilton, at 
No. 6 Castle Street, Liverpool; in the United States to Mr. Joseph P. Joy, 
office of the Panama Railroad, 88 Wall Street, New York; Wheatley, Starr, 
and Company, 156 Cheapside, London. 

All freight to be prepaid. 

No bill of lading signed for less than five dollars. 

A Commercial and Shipping Agency has been established by the Com- 
pany at Panama, under the management of Mr. Wm. Nelson, who will re- 
ceive and forward merchandise or produce consigned to the Company for 
transportation over the road and shipment at Aspinwall or Panama, in ac- 
cordance with shippers' instructions, for which services no commissions will 
be charged, and only such expenses as may actually be paid, thus obviating 
the necessity of appointing agents on the Isthmus. 

Merchandise and produce consigned to the Company for transportation 
and shipment should be addressed to the superintendent of the road, or to 
the commercial agent of the Company at Panama, Mr. William Nelson. 
Goods so consigned will be promptly dispatched. 

The average freight from New York to Liverpool by sailing vessels is twen- 
ty-five shillings sterling per ton ; the average passage about twenty days. 
By screw steamers the freight is higher, but the passage only fifteen days. 

Besides the steamers of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, which 
make regular semi-monthly trips between Southampton and Aspinwall, a 
screw steam-ship line has commenced running between the latter port and 
Liverpool. Lines of sailing vessels have also been established to run from 
London, Liverpool and Bordeaux to Aspinwall. These several lines furnish 
frequent and reliable opportunities to the merchants of the Southwest coast 
and Central America to obtain their supplies of European manufactured and 
other goods. 

Goods sent by the Company's line of sailing vessels, and consigned to the 
secretary in New York for reshipment to Europe or elsewhere, will be for- 
warded free of commissions or other charges than those actually paid. 

Farther information in regard to the number and character of the vessels 
of the various lines connecting with the Panama Railroad, agencies, ports 
of entry, prices of passage and freight, dates of sailing, etc., etc., will be 
found in the following Appendix. 

NEW YORK TO ACAPTJLCO AND MANZANILLA. 

The Panama Railroad Company issue through Bills of Lading (by sailing 
vessels to Aspinwall) for merchandise to the above ports, at the following 
rates : Dry-goods and first class, $58 per ton of 40 feet ; unbleached domes- 
tics and coarse goods assimilating, $52 per ton of 40 feet ; machinery, $52 
per ton of 40 feet or 2000 lbs. ; hardware, $50 per ton of 2000 lbs.— with 
primage 5 per cent. 

Freight payable in American gold. Consignees to pay all light-house fees 
and port charges. 

ACAPULCO AND MANZANILLA TO NEW YORK. 

The Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company issue through Bills of Lading from 
the above ports to New York (by sailing vessels from Aspinwall) at the fol- 
lowing rates : Hides, dry, 68 cents each ; cotton, press-packed, 3 cents per 
lb. ; treasure, 2% per cent. — with primage 5 per cent. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 147 



APPENDIX D. 

STEAM-SHIP LINES CONNECTING WITH THE PANAMA 
RAILROAD. 

1st. The Atlantic and Pacific Steam-ship Company, running between New 
York and Aspinwall (below). 

2d. The Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, running between Panama and 
San Francisco (page 148). 

3d. The Oregon and California Steam-ship Company, plying between 
California, Oregon, and Washington Territory and Mexico (pp. 150, 182). ' 

4th. The Panama Railroad Company's Central American Line, running 
between Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Salvador and Guatemala (p. 151). 

5th. The British Pacific Steam Navigation Company, running between 
Panama and the ports of New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chili 
x (page 154). 

6th. The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, running between the West 
Indies, the western coast of South and Central America, and Aspinwall 
(page 160). 

7th. Holt's Screw Steam-ship Freight Line, running between Liverpool 
and Aspinwall (page 176). 

LINES OF SAILING VESSELS. 

1st. The Bremen and Aspinwall Line, between Bremen and Aspinwall. 

2d. The Bordeaux and Aspinwall Line, between Bordeaux and Aspin- 
wall. 

3d. The Panama Railroad Company's Line between Liverpool and Aspin, 
wall. 

4th. The Panama Railroad Company's Line between New York and As- 
pinwall. 

1st. THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC STEAM-SHIP COMPANY, RUNNING BETWEEN 
NEW YORK AND ASPINWALL DIRECT, CONNECTING AT PANAMA, BY THE 
PANAMA RAILROAD, WITH THE PACIFIC MAIL STEAM -SHIP COMPANY'S 
STEAMERS FOR CALIFORNIA. 

Four steamers per month will be dispatched from New York and San 
Francisco respectively. Days of departure, 1st, 8th, 16th, and 24th of every 
month, from the foot of Warren Street, North River, New York, at 12 o'clock, 
noon, precisely. When these dates fall on Sunday, the day of departure is 
on the Monday following. 

Rates of Passage. — To Aspinwall. 

In deck state-room $70 00 

" first cabin 1 60 00 

" second cabin 50 00 

" steerage . 40 00 

Freight. — To Aspinwall. 
On merchandise, 50 cents per cubic foot (under 45 lbs.) ; heavy goods, 1 
cent per pound ; specie, 1 per cent, on value. No primage charged. 



148 HAND-BOOK OF THE 



THROUGH PASSAGE AND FREIGHT. 

By an arrangement with the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company and the 
Panama Railroad Company, through passage tickets to San Francisco, Cal- 
ifornia, are furnished at the office of this Company; also through bills of 
lading for freight, at the following rates : 

Tlirough Passage to San Francisco, California. 

First cabin (including board) $200 00 

Second " " " 150 00 

Steerage " " 100 00 

Children under 6 years, quarter price ; over 6 and under 12, half price. 
Baggage. — Fifty pounds of baggage is allowed to every adult passenger 
without charge. On all over this quantity ten cents per pound is required. 

Through Freight. 

To Panama — $1 per cubic foot (under 45 lbs. to the foot) ; heavy goods, If 
cents per pound (over 45 lbs. to the foot) ; specie, 1 per cent, on value. 

To San Francisco — $1 75 per cubic foot (under 45 lbs.) ; heavy goods, 4 
cents per pound; butter, sugar, and coffee, etc., 3 J cents per pound; specie, 
1 per cent, on value. No primage charged. 

No bill of lading signed for Aspinwall freight for less than $3, for Panama 
freight for less than $4, nor for San Francisco freight for less than $15. 

No freight received on the day of sailing. 

Bills of lading of the only form used are furnished to shippers on applica- 
tion at the office of the Company, No. 177 West Street, corner of Warren, 
New York City. D. B. Allen, Agent. 

The usual passage of these steamers between New York and Aspinwall is 
from eight to nine days. 

2d. THE PACIFIC MAIL STEAM-SHIP COMPANY, RUNNING BETWEEN PANAMA 
AND SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, TOUCHING AT MANZANILLA AND ACA- 
PULCO, MEXICO. 

The steamers of this Company are, the Golden Age, 2280 tons ; the Gold- 
en Gate, 2067 tons; the Sonora, 1616 tons; the St. Louis, 1621 tons; the 
Uncle Sam, 1433 tons; the Washington, 1640 tons ; the Orizaba, 1450 tons; 
the Fremont, 559 tons; the California, 1085 tons; the Toboga (tug), 189 
tons. The new steam-ship Constitution, 3300 tons, one of the finest steam- 
ers afloat, sailed from New York June, 1862, to take her place on the 
line. 

The Golden Age, the Golden Gate, the St. Louis, and the Sonora per- 
form the regular service between Panama and San Francisco. These steam- 
ers are dispatched alternately for San Francisco three times a month, on the 
arrival of the passengers from the Atlantic and Pacific Steam-ship Compa- 
ny's steamer at Panama. The dates usually fall on the 10th, 20th, and 30th 
of each month. The sailing dates from San Francisco fall upon the 1st, 
11th, and 21st of each month. 

Through Hates from San Francisco to New York, via Panama Railroad and 
Atlantic and Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company (including Isthmus'). 

Passage — deck state-rooriis, $225 ; first cabin, $200 ; second cabin, $150; 
steerage, $100. Children between 6 and 12 years, half price ; under 6 years, 
quarter price. 

Through freight — "fast" (by connecting steamers), $3 50 per foot; 
"slow" (stopping over one steamer on the Isthmus), $1 75 per foot. 

The rates for passage and freight from Panama to San Francisco, and the 
ports intermediate, are as follows, viz. : 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 149 

Passage from Panama to San Francisco— first cabin, $140 ; second cabin, 
$87 50 ; steerage, $52 50. Passage from Panama to Acapulco, one half the 
above rates, and from Panama to Manzanilla, two thirds of the above rates. 

The rates of freight from Panama to San Francisco : Havana cigars, En- 
glish merchandise, and other freight of the same class, $46 per ton ; freight 
originating in Panama also $46 per ton. 

Freight from Panama to Acapulco : merchandise, $30 per ton ; groceries, 
wines, and liquors, $25 per ton ; tobacco and cocoa, 4 cents per lb. 

Central American freight, -with through bills of lading, from the Panama 
Railroad Company's steamers : 

Coffee, 20 tons or under 2 cents per lb. and 5 per cent, primage. 

" ' " " over H " " " 5 " " 

Sugar 1£ " " " 5 " " 

Consignees pay light-house fees, port charges, and primage. 

Treasure from San Francisco to New York — $30,000 or over, H per cent. ; 
under $30,000, 2 per cent. 

From San Francisco and Manzanilla to Panama — 1\ per cent. ; from Aca- 
pulco to Panama, 1$ per cent. 

There is always at Panama an extra steamer in readiness for immediate 
use should occasion require. The ships of this company at this end of their 
route lie at their anchorage-ground between the Bay Islands, 2\ miles from 
the railroad terminus, where the depot of the Company is located. Passen- 
gers are transported between ship and shore by the Company's steamer To- 
boga, which is of sufficiently light draught to lay alongside the railroad 
wharf at the terminus. 

At Benicia, 30 miles from San Francisco, in the Straits of Cardenas, is 
located the depot for the Company's steamers. At that place the Company 
have established commodious wharves, and a large foundry and machine- 
shop, where repairs are readily and efficiently executed for machinery of the 
largest class. 

The general office of the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company is at New 
York, No. 88 Wall Street. 

Two more large steamers are now building for this service. 

Officers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. 
President, Allan M'Lane. 

Directors: William H. Aspinwall, Howard Potter, Samuel W. Comstock, 
Francis Skiddv, Frederick H. Wolcott, J. T. Soutter, Charles A. Davis, D. 
B. Allen. 

Agents. — In London, Wheatley, Starr, and Co., 156 Cheapside. 

At Panama, David M. Corwin. 

" Acapulco, D. B. Van Brunt. 

' ' San Francisco, Forbes and Babcock. 
In Oregon, J. M. Bruck. 

The origin of the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company dates back as far as 
the year 1847, when the Congress of the United States empowered the Sec- 
retary of the Navy to contract with Mr. Arnold Harris for the transportation 
of mails in steam-ships from Panama to Oregon, once a month each way, for 
a term of ten years, at an annual compensation of $199,000, the contract 
subject to the action of Congress at its next session of 1847-8. The treaty 
with Great Britain, which had previously adjusted the vexed question of the 
boundary-line of Oregon, had turned public attention to her rich valleys, and 
thousands of settlers were seeking a permanent home in Oregon by the wild 
paths to the Pacific across the Plains. The object of Congress in making an 
appropriation for steamer service on the Pacific was not only to facilitate 
the intercourse between the Atlantic States and the United States possessions 



150 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

on the Pacific, substituting a mode of travel which would bring settlers with- 
in thirty days' journey of the Atlantic States, thereby dispensing with the 
long and perilous journey overland, or the more tedious voyage around Cape 
Horn, but to have steamers on the Pacific easily convertible into war-steam- 
ers for the protection of actual settlers in that isolated land should occasion 
call for such service. 

On the 20th of November, 1847, Mr. William H. Aspinwall became the 
assignee of Mr. Harris's contract, and about twenty-five sagacious and enter- 
prising men of New York joined him in the effort to carry out the under- 
taking it involved. Contracts for the building of suitable vessels were made, 
and their construction pushed vigorously onward. 

On the 2d of February, 1848, the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was sign- 
ed ; in the following May ratifications were exchanged, and in July it was 
proclaimed, and California became the property of the United States, thus 
greatly increasing the immediate necessity of improved communication with 
the Pacific coast. The pioneer steam-ship, the California, was launched on 
the 19th of May, 1848, the Panama soon after, and the Oregon on the 5th 
of August of the same year. 

On the 3d of August, 1848, the United States Congress granted to the 
Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company $199,000, being an advance of one year's 
pay, provided their steamers should touch at certain ports in California on 
their voyages. 

On the 30th of September, 1848, the Company was formally organized, 
$400,000 of stock having been paid in according to the terms of their charter. 

On the 5th of October, 1848, the California went to sea. Her consorts 
followed at short intervals. The discovery of the gold mines of California 
took place while the steamers were on their route to the Pacific ; and the 
California, touching at the port of Panama, found there a multitude of anx- 
ious gold-seekers from the United States, who had crossed the Isthmus, via 
Chagres, to meet her for the voyage from thence to California. Each suc- 
ceeding steamer found similar crowds awaiting its arrival, and the organiza- 
tion of the route, which at once took place, has continued in regular opera- 
tion up to the present day, with such additions to their number and increased 
tonnage as the rapidly growing traffic required. 

The Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company has always been characterized by 
the great and judicious liberality of its management. 

No expense has been spared since the first formation of the Company to 
carry on their business with the greatest possible safety and dispatch, both 
for passengers and freight ; and the comforts and general requirements of 
passengers have been so efficiently secured by able and courteous officers 
that it may be truthfully referred to as one of the most universally popular 
steam-ship lines in the world. 

3d. THE OREGON AND CALIFORNIA STEAM-SHIP COMPANY, RUNNING BETWEEN 
SAN FRANCISCO AND THE PORTS OF OREGON, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 
AND VANCOUVER'S ISLAND, TRI -MONTHLY, WITH A SOUTHERN BRANCH, 
MONTHLY SERVICE, BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO AND THE MEXICAN PACIFIC 
COAST. 

This line was established early in the present year (1861) by Messrs. Hol- 
liday & Flint, of San Francisco, who purchased the steam-ships Panama, of 
1087 tons, Cortez, 1117, Kepublic, 850, Columbia, 777, and Sierra Nevada, 
1247 tons, from the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, and took charge of 
the San Francisco, Oregon, Washington Territory, and Vancouver route, 
heretofore managed by the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, besides estab- 
lishing a new branch of service between San Francisco and the ports of Cape 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



151 



St. Lucas, Guaymas, San Bias, Mazatlan, Acapulco, and other Mexican 
ports. 

The service between San Francisco, Oregon, Washington Territory, and 
Vancouver is performed thrice monthly by the steamers Sierra Nevada, Cor- 
tez, and Columbia, and connects with the steamers of the Pacific Mail Steam- 
ship Company as heretofore. 



Porta of entry. 



Price of passage 
from San Francisco. 



Cabin. | Steerage. 



Freight, 
per ton. 



Upward. Down 



In Oregon, Humboldt Bay (town of Eureka) 

" Crescent City 

" Port Orford 

" Umpqua and Gardiner City 

In Vancouver, Victoria 

In Washington Territory, Port Townscnd.. 

" " " Steilacoom 

" " " Olympia 



$30 
30 
40 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 



|515 
15 
15 

25 
25 
25 



$15 
10 
10 
15 
12* 
15 
15 
15 



$15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 



May, 18G2. — For Messrs. Holladay & Flint's Pacific Mexican Mail 
Line Steamers, see pages 182-185. 

4th. THE PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY'S CENTRAL AMERICAN LINE OF STEAM- 
SHIPS, RUNNING SEMI-MONTHLY BETWEEN THE PORTS OF GUATEMALA, SAL- 
VADOR, COSTA RICA, NICARAGUA, AND PANAMA. 

The steam propellers Guatemala, 1021 tons, J. M. Dow, commander, and 
Salvador, 1200 tons, J. W. Rathbun, commander, arrive at and depart from 
Centi-al American ports on or about the following days of each month, form- 
ing a semi-monthly line : 



Departure. 


Arrival. 


From 


Salvador. 


Gantemala. 


At 


Salvador. 


G-uatelama 




15th 

18th 

20th 

21st 

22d 

22d 

25th 

26th 

27th - 

30th 

1st 

3d 


30th 

3d 

5th 

6th 

7th 

7th 

10th 

11th 

12th 

15th 

16th 

18th 


Punta Arenas.... 
Realejo 


17th 
19th 
20th 
22d 
22d 
23d 
25th 
27th 
28th 
30th 
2d 
5th 


2d 

4th 

5th 

7th 

7th 

8th 

10th 

11th 

13th 

15th 

17th 

20th 


Punta Arenas.... 


La Union 


La Union 


La Libertad 


La Libertad 






Acajutla 




La Libertad 


La Libertad 






Punta Arenas.... 


Punta Arenas.... 





Prices of Passage. 

From Panama to Punta Arenas $40 00 

" " Realejo 65 00 

" " La Union 70 00 

" " La Libertad 75 00 

" " Acajutla 80 00 

" " San Jose de Guatemala 85 00 

Payable in American gold. 



a it 


Realejo, 


tt 


a tt 


La Union, 


a 


a it 


La Libertad, 


a 


a ti 


Acajutla, 


a 


a a 


San Jose, 


it 


And five per cent 


primage. 





152 HAND-BOOK OF THE 



Prices of Freight (including Lighterage in Panama). 

From Panama to Punta Arenas, per ton measurement $14 00 

" 16 00 

" 16 00 

" 18 00 

" 18 00 

" 18 00 



Prices of Return Freight (including Lighterage at Panama). 

From San Jose, Acajutla, and La Libertad, to Panama : For cochineal and 
indigo, li cents per lb. on the net weight ; hides, 32 cents each ; other mer- 
chandise in cases, bales, etc., 45 cents per cubic foot ; and 5 per cent, prim- 
age. 

From La Union and Realejo to Panama : Cochineal and indigo, 1£ cents 
per lb. net weight; hides, 30 cents each; merchandise in cases, bales, etc., 
40 cents per cubic foot ; and 5 per cent, primage. 

From Punta Arenas to Panama : Coffee, |- cent, gross weight ; hides, 24 
cents each ; merchandise in cases, bales, etc., 35 cents per cubic foot. 

Produce and other merchandise for Panama will be landed at the railroad 
wharf, where it must be received by the consignees immediately ; in default 
of which, it will be taken to the depot at the expense and risk of the owner. 

All freight and passage payable in American gold or its equivalent. 

Prices of Freight from the Ports of Central America to Aspinwall (Colon), in- 
cluding the Expense of Landing and Transportation by the Railroad. 

From San Jose, Acajutla, and La Libertad : Indigo and cochineal, 2f cents 
per lb. net weight; hides, 47 cents each ; merchandise in cases, etc., 45 cents 
per cubic foot, and the regular transportation charges established by the 
tariff of the railroad. 

From La Union and Realejo : Indigo and cochineal, 2f cents per lb. net 
weight ; hides, 45 cents each ; merchandise in cases, etc., 40 cents per cubic 
foot, and the transportation charges established by the tariff of the railroad. 

From Punta Arenas: Coffee, 1^ cents per lb. gross weight; hides, 39 
cents each ; merchandise in cases, etc., 35 cents per cubic foot, and the trans- 
portation charges established by the tariff of the railroad. 

Through Rates of Freight from Central America to the South American Ports. 

To Guayaquil, cochineal, per ceroon $3 75 

" Callao, " " 4 75 

" Valparaiso, " " 5 75 

To Guayaquil, coffee, per pound li cts. 

" Callao, " " II " 

" Valparaiso, " " 2i " 

To Guayaquil, crude sugar H cts. 

" Callao " II " 

" Valparaiso, " 2£ " 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



153 



Rates of Through Freight from New York, by the Company's sailing Vessels 
to Aspinwall, including Lighterage in Panama. 



Goods can be shipped three times per month, by steamers of 
the Atlantic and Pacific Steam-ship Company, to Aspin- 
vrall, at an addition of 35 cents per foot, or $14 per ton, to 
the following rates. 



g fl 3 



Dry-goods, hats, boots, shoes, drugs, and other goods, 
included in railroad tariff as first class, per ton of 
40 feet 

Unbleached domestics, per ton of 40 feet 

Furniture, carriages, agricultural implements, wood- 
en-ware, clocks, etc. , per ton of 40 feet 

Iron in bars, sheets, and bundles, iron castings, nails, 
spikes, copper, zinc, and lead, per ton of 2000 lbs. 

Steel in bars and bundles, coarse machinery, com- 
mon hardware, earthen-ware, sugar-mills, -moulds, 
and -pans, shot, etc., per ton of 2000 lbs 

Butter, cheese, lard, fish, ham, soap, and candles, 
per ton of 2000 lbs 

Refined sugar, per ton of 40 feet 

Flour and rice, per barrel 

" " per half barrel 

Wine in boxes and baskets, per ton of 40 feet 

" in casks, and other liquors, per ton of 40 feet 

Tobacco, manufactured, per ton of 40 feet 

" unmanufactured, per ton of 40 feet 

Ship-bread, crackers, etc., per ton of 40 feet 



$40 00 
32 00 

30 00 

30 00 

34 00 

35 00 
30 00 

4 20 
2 20 
32 00 
35 00 
40 00 
32 00 
28 00 



$42 00 
34 00 

32 00 

32 00 

36 00 

37 00 

32 00 
4 50 
2 35 
34 00 
37 00 
42 00 
34 00 
30 00 



$44 00 
3G 00 

34 00 

34 00 

38 00 

39 00 
34 00 

4 80 
2 50 
36 00 
39 00 
44 00 
36 00 
32 00 



Hates of Return Freights, by the Company's sailing Vessels from Aspinicall to 
New Yoj'k; including Lighterage in Panama. 



To Aspin- 

Panama. wall. 



New 
York. 



20 00 
18 00 
U 



Lumber, from La Union, per M 

" " Punta Arenas, per M 

Cochineal and indigo, from either port, per lb. net. 
Hides, from San Jose, Acajutla, and La Libertad, 

each 

Hides, from La Union and Realejo, each 

" " Punta Arenas 

Coffee, from Punta Arenas, per lb. gross 

Deer and goat skins, from Punta Arenas, per lb... 

" " " other ports, " ... 

Cigars, balsam, and first class goods, per railroad 

tariff, per foot 

India-rubber 

Cotton 

Sugar 

Silver ore to New York, in lots of 25 tons and upward, $25 ; less than 25 

tons, $30 per ton of 2240 lbs. 



32 
30 
24 

I 
1 

1* 

50 
1 



$0 02| 

47 
45 
39 
H 
U 
2i 

1 00 

H 

H 

n 



$0 03i 

62 
60 
54 

14 

2£ 
3 

1 16 

a* 

2 
If 



No primage on through rates. 

Through bills of lading are given from Central American ports to Liver- 
pool (by propellers Saladin and Plantagenet from Aspinwall) at 4 cents per 
lb. on net weight of indigo and cochineal, and 2£ cents per lb. on gross 
weight of coffee ; and to London (by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Compa- 



154 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

ny's steamers) at 2J- pence sterling per lb. on gross weight of indigo and 
cochineal. 

Produce and other merchandise for Panama will be landed at the railroad 
wharf, where it must be received by the consignees immediately ; in default 
of which, it will be taken to the depot at the expense and risk of the owner. 
All freight and passage payable in American gold or its equivalent. 
For farther information, apply to 

Jos. F. Jot, Secretary, 88 Wall St., New York. 
Wm. Nelson, Commercial Agent, Panama. 
Crisanto Medina, Punta Arenas. 
Courtade t Clavera, La Union. 
H. J. Foote and J. Mathi, Sonsonate. 
J. Saragia, San Jose de Guatemala. 

Or to the commanders on board. 
For a description of the countries touched at by the Central American 
Line, also an account of the ports, port regulations and charges, tariffs, com- 
merce, etc., etc., see page 189, et seq. 

5th. THE PACIFIC STEAM NAVIGATION COMPANY, PLYING BETWEEN PANAMA, 
CALLAO, VALPARAISO, AND INTERMEDIATE PORTS. 

The steam-ships destined for the service are the following: Bogota, 1600 
tons ; Lima, 1600 tons ; Callao, 1200 tons ; Valparaiso, 1200 tons ; Guaya- 
quil, 1000 tons ; San Carlos, 1000 tons ; Bolivia, 800 tons ; Anne, 500 tons ; 
Cloda, 900 tons ; New Granada, 750 tons ; Inca, 300 tons ; Morro, 150 tons. 

Voyage to the South. 

Days of each Month. 

Departure from Panama 9th and 24th. 

Arrival at Guayaquil 13th and 28th. 

Departure from Guayaquil 14th, 29th, and 2d. 

Arrival at Payta 15th, 30th, and 3d. 

" Lambayeque 17th and 4th. 

Departure from Lambayeque 18th and 5th. 

Arrival at Pacasmayo 18th and 5th. 

" Huanchaco 19th and 6th. 

" Santa 20th. 

" Samanco 7th. 

" Casma 20th and 7th. 

" Supe 21st and 8th. 

" Huacho 21st and 8th. 

" Callao 18th, 22d, 2d or 3d, and 9th. 

Departure from Callao 20th, 26th, 5th, and 11th. 

Arrival at CerroAzul 27th and 12th. 

" Islas de Chincha 21st, 27th, 6th, and 12th. 

" Pisco 21st, 27th, 6th, and 12th. 

" Chala 29th and 14th. 

" Islay 23d, 30th, 8th, and 15th. 

" Arica 24th, 31st or 1st, 9th, and 16th. 

" Pisagua 1st or 2d, and 17th. 

" Mejillones 1st or 2d, and 17th. 

" Iquique 1st or 2d, and 17th. 

" Tocopillo 2d or 3d, and 18th. 

" Cobija 25th, 2d or 3d, 10th and 18th. 

" Caldera 27th, 4th or 5th, 12th, and 20th. 

Departure from Caldera 27th, 4th or 5th, 12th, and 20th. 

Arrival at Carrizal bajo 5th or 6th, and 21st. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 155 

Dayg of each Month. 

Arrival at Huasco 5th or Gth, and 21st. 

" Coquimbo 28th, Gth or 7th, 13th, and 22d. 

" Tongoy 6th or 7th, and 22d. 

" Valparaiso 29th, 7th or 8th, 14th, and 23d. 



Voyage to the North. 

Days of each Month. 

Departure from Valparaiso 3d, 11th, 18th, and 27th. 

Arrival at Tongoy 12th and 28th. 

" Coquimbo 4th, 12th, 19th, and 28th. 

" Huasco 13th and 29th. 

" Carrizalbajo 13th and 29th. 

" Caldera 5th, 11th, 20th, and 30th. 

" Cobija 7th, lGth, 22d, 1st or 2d. 

" Tocopillo 16th, and 1st or 2d. 

" Iquique 17th, and 2d or 3d. 

" Mejillones 17th, and 2d or 3d. 

" Pisagua...., 17th, and 2d or 3d. 

" Arica 8th, 18th, 23d, and 3d or 4th. 

" Islay 9th, 19th, 24th, and 4th or 5th. 

" Chala 20th, and 5th or Gth. 

" Pisco 14th, 21st, 26th, and 6th or 7th. 

" Islas de Chincha 11th, 21st, 26th, and 6th or 7th. 

" Cerro Azul 21st, and 6th or 7th. 

Callao 12th, 22d, 27th, and 7th or 8th. 

Departure from Callao 14th, 24th, 29th, and 13th. 

Arrival at Huacho 25th and 14th. 

" Supe 25th and 14th. 

" Casma 26th and 15th. 

" Samanco 26th. 

" Santa 15th. 

" Huanchaco 27th and 16th. 

" Pacasmayo 27th and 16th. 

'" Lambayeque 28th and 17th. 

" Payta 17th, 19th, and 1st or 2d. 

" Guayaquil 30th. 

" Panama 22d, and 6th or 7th. 



First Second 

Saloon. Saloon. 

Panama to Guayaquil ... $105 $100 

" Payta 115 110 

" Lambayeque 135 130 

" Huanchaco.. 135 130 

" Casma 140 135 

*" Huacho 145 140 

" CaUao 160 150 

" Pisco 175 165 



Bates of Passage. 

First Second 

Saloon. Saloon. 

Panama to Islay $220 $210 

" Arica 230 220 

" Iquique 245 230 

" Cobija 255 240 

" Caldera 265 250 

" Huasco 270 255 

" Coquimbo... 275 260 

" Valparaiso.. 290 270 



Passage for any of the above ports can be secured at the office of the 
Panama Railroad Company, 88 Wall Street, New York. 

The Pacific Steam Navigation Company will issue through bills of lading 
for produce from the above-mentioned ports — To New York, to be conveyed 
from Aspinwall by sailing vessels of the Panama Railroad Company ; to 
Liverpool, to be conveyed from Aspinwall by propellers Saladin and Plan- 



156 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



tagenet ; to Southampton, to be conveyed from Aspinwall by steamers of 
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company. 

An arrangement has also been made by which produce can be shipped 
under through bills of lading from ports in Central America touched at by 
steamers Guatemala and Columbus to the above ports on the west coast. 



Rates of Freight in Dollars f 


rom Panama to 


Valparaiso and intern 


ediate Po 


775. 




£ 

I 

a 

a 

3 

pq 


'3 

— 

c 


03 

P4 
25 
20 
12 


p 
a" 

& 

03 

s 

03 

25 
25 
15 
15 


o 

o 
03 

13 

a 

03 
3 

25 
25 
15 
15 
15 


s 


o 


d 
D 

30 
25 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
12 


o 

a 
m 

s 

30 
30 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
15 
15 


>> 

03 

35 
30 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 


03 

< 

35 
35 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
15 


d 
'3 


f 


i 

"3 

c 

40 
40 
25 
25 
9,0 


c 
e 

S3 

45 
40 

25 
25 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
12 


d 

s 

3 

— 

o 

45 
40 
25 
25 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
12 
12 


d 
1 

93 

"3 

45 
40 
25 
25 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
12 
12 
12 


Panama per ton. 

Buenaventura.... " 

Guayaquil " 

Payta " 

Lambayeque " 

Huanchaco " 


20 


25 

20 


30 30 
2525 
15 15 
1515 
1515 
1515 

.,.!15 

1 


40 40 
35j35 

2525 
25|25 
20^20 










202020 
20I20J20 
20:20 20 
2020:20 
20 20 ! 20 












Huacho " 

Callao " 












1 

"V" 


Pisco " 

Islay " 






... 


... 




...1... 

.......... 






20 
15 


2020 
1520 
20 20 


Iquique " 

Cobija " 

Caldera " 

Huasco " 

Coquimbo " 












! 




















1 














20 






























































I 

















































Rates of Freight in Dollars from Valparaiso to Panama and intermediate Ports. 





d 
,a 

2 
3 

5 
w 

12 


d 

m 

12 

12 
... 


c2 

B 


o 


03 

'3 

20 
15 

15 
15 
15 


03 

_o 

20 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 


20 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 


6 

.-• 

S3 
20 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 


d 

O 

20 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
12 


d 

o 

2 


B* 
| 


d 

o 

03 

W 


c- 

Cv 

ci 

■a 
| 


% 

x- 

Ph 

25 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
15 
15 
15 
12 
12 
12 
12 


"B 

I" 
>-, 
so 

5 
25 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
15 
12 
12 

19 


2 
s 
c 
> 
a 

3 

pq 
30 
25 
25 

25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
20 
18 
18 
18 
18 
15 
15 


OS* 

1 
£ 

30 
25 

25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
20 
18 
18 
18 
18 
IS 
15 
15 


Valparaiso per ton. 

Coquimbo " 


12J20 

1215 
12 is 


25|25 
18|18 
18 18 


25 25 

1818 
18 18 
18 18 
18118 
18 18 


Caldera " 

Cobija " 




15 


18 
18 
15 
15 


18 
18 
18 
15 










Arica " 

Islay " 

Pisco " 

Callao " 

Huacho " 

Casma " 

Huanchaco " 

Lambayeque " 

Payta " 

Guayaquil " 

Buenaventura.... " 












15 

15 
15 

12 
12 
12 


15 
15 
15 
12 
12 
12 
12 














15 15 
15 IK 
































12 


12 
12 












































12 12 






























12 




































































■ 

















PANAMA RAILROAD. 



157 



Through Rates of Freigld from New York to Valparaiso and intermediate Ports. 

The Panama Railroad Company are now prepared to issue through bills 
of lading to all the ports touched at by the steamers of the Pacific Steam 
Navigation Company, at the following rates : 



General merchandise, and all goods embraced in first class 

of Panama Railroad tariff, per ton of 40 cubic feet, or 

2240 lbs. gross weight, at the option of the Company 

Beef and pork, per barrel 

" " per half barrel 

Flour, per barrel 

' ' per half barrel 

Biscuit, per 100 lbs 

Butter, lard, hams, bacon, cheese, salt fish, tallow, and rice, 

per ton of 2000 lbs 

Refined sugar, per ton of 2000 lbs 

Wines and other liquors, in boxes and barrels, per ton of 40 

cubic feet 

Manufactured tobacco, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Cigars, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Unbleached domestics, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Soap, per ton of 2000 lbs 

Candles, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Carriages and furniture, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Agricultural implements, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Pitqh, tar, and rosin, per barrel 

Earthen-ware and glass-ware (coarse), in crates and boxes, 

per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Turpentine and oil in cases, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Turpentine and oil in tins only, per ton of 40 cubic feet.. ... 



To Buenaventu- 
ra, Guayaquil, 
Payta, and in- 
termediates. 


To Callao, Valpa- 
raiso, and inter- 
mediates, south 
of Payta. 


$40 00 


$50 00 


5 00 


7 00 


2 75 


3 75 


4 00 


5 00 


2 25 


2 75 


2 50 


3 50 


30 00 


40 00 


40 00 


45 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


35 00 


45 00 


25 00 


32 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


25 00 


35 00 


3 00 


4 00 


25 00 


35 00 


30 00 


40 00 


35 00 


45 00 



All weights to be the gross weight. 

Articles not enumerated to be charged at rates assimilating to the above. 

From New York to Aspinwall shipments are made by the sailing vessels 
of the Panama Railroad Company, leaving at intervals of from eight to ten 
days. 

All freight to be prepaid. 

No bill of lading signed for less than five dollars. 

Farther particulars may be learned on application to the secretary at the 
office of the Panama Railroad Company, No. 88 Wall Street, New York. 

Weekly Line between Callao, Lambayeque, and Guayaquil. 



Departure from Callao 6th, 13th, 19th, and 24th 

Arrival at Huacho 7th, 14th, 20th, and 25th 

" Supe 7th, 14th, 20th, and 25th 

" Casma 8th, 15th, 21st, and 26th 

" Samanco 26th 

" Santa 15th 

G2 



of each month. 



158 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



and 27th 
and 28th 
29th 
30th 
2d or 
3d or 
4th or 
and 4th or 
and 5 th or 
and 5th or 



3d 
4th 
5th 
5th 
6th 
6th 



Arrival at Huanchaco 9th, 16th, Ud, and 27th of each month. 

" Malabrigo 9th and 22d 

" Pacasmayo 16th, 

" Lambayeque.... 10th, 17th, 23d 

" Payta 

" Guayaquil 

Departure from Guayaquil 

Arrival at Payta 

" Lambayeque 

Departure fr. Lambayeque 10th, 17th, 23d ; 
Arrival at Pacasmayo 18th 

" Malabrigo 18th 

" Huanchaco 11th, 19th, 24th, and 6th or 7th 

" Santa 20th 

" Samanco.. 7th or 8th 

Casrna.., 12th, 20th, 25th, and 7th or 8th 

Departure from Casma .... 12th, 20th, 25th, and 7th or 8th 
Arrival at Supe 13th, 21st, 26th, and 8th or 9th 

" Huacho 13th, 21st, 26th, and 8th or 9th 

" Callao 14th, 22d, 27th, and 9th or 10th 

Eates of freight : Prom Callao to Guayaquil and the intermediate ports, 
$8 per ton ; from Guayaquil to Callao and the intermediate ports, $10 per 
ton ; from Guayaquil, and the intermediate ports as far south as Callao, to 
Valparaiso, $15 per ton. 

Semi-monthly Line between Valparaiso, Talcahuano, and Puerto Montt. 

Departure from Valparaiso . . 10th and 30th of each month. 

Arrival at Constitucion 1 1th 

" Tome 12th and 31st or 1st 

" Talcahuano 12th and 31st or 1st 



1st or 2d 



" Coronel 

" Lota 13th 

" Valdivia 14th 

" Ancud 15th 

" Calbuco 16th 

' ' Puerto Montt 1 6th 

Departure from Puerto Montt 18th 
Arrival at Calbuco 18th 

" Ancud 18th 

" Valdivia 20th 

" Lota 21st 

" Coronel 

" Talcahuano 22d and 

Departure from Talcahuano. 22d and 
Arrival at Tome 22d and 

" Constitucion 23d 

" Valparaiso 24th and 

Monthly Line between Panama and 

Departure from Panama 12th of each month. 

Arrival at Buenaventura 14th " " 

Departure from Buenaventura 15th " " 

Arrival at Tumaco 16th " " 

Esmeraldas 17th " " 

" Manta 18th " " 

" Guayaquil 20th " " 



1st or 2d 
2d or 3d 
3d or 4th 
3d or 4th 



4th or 5th " 

uquil — Steam-ship Anne. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



159 



Departure from Guayaquil 24th of each month. 

Arrival at Manta 2Gth " " 

11 Esmeraldas 28th " " 

" Tumaco 29th " " 

" Buenaventura 30th " " 

Departure from Buenaventura 3 1 st " " 

Arrival at Panama 2d or 3d " 

Prices of Passage by the Anne. 





Buenaven- 
tura. 


Tumaco. 


Esmeral- 
das. 


Manta. 


Guaya- ' 

quil. 


From Panama to ... , 


$50 00 


$G0 00 
30 00 


$70 00 
40 00 
20 00 


$80 00 
50 00 
30 00 
20 00 


$85 00 
GO 00 
40 00 
30 00 
25 00 


11 Buenaventura to 




" Esmeraldas to 

" Manta to 






















Manta. 


Esmeral- 
das. 


Tumaco. 


Buenaven- 
tura. 


Panama. 


Prom Guayaquil to 


$25 00 


$30 00 
20 00 


$40 00 
30 00 
20 00 


$50 00 
45 00 
35 00 
30 00 


$85 00 
80 00 
70 00 
GO 00 
50 00 


" Manta to 


" Esmeraldas to 








' ' Buenaventura to 















Rates of Freight. 

From Guayaquil and intermediate ports to Panama $10 00 per ton. 

" Panama " " Guayaquil.. 12 00 " 

The Pacific Steam Navigation Company was organized in April, 1839, 
but the charter of incorporation was not obtained until February, 1840. In 
November, 1839, the directors, under assurance that the charter would be 
granted, contracted for two steam vessels, which were completed and dis- 
patched from England for service on the Pacific in July, 1840, and com- 
menced their voyages on the coasts of the Pacific in November of the same 
year, since which time the line has been in regular and successful operation. 
Its business has increased to such an extent that a fleet of eleven large 
steam-ships, with a semi-monthly service, are now employed on the through 
route between Panama and Valparaiso, besides a monthly steam-ship (the 
Anne) plying between Panama and Guayaquil, a weekly line of four steam- 
ships plying between Callao and Guayaquil, and a semi-monthly line between 
Valparaiso and Puerto Montt, touching at the intermediate ports for the col- 
lection of freight, which, from the increase of the through business, caused 
too much delay for the ships of the through line. 

The machine and repair shops, and other facilities for keeping the vessels 
of the Company in order, are very extensive and well appointed. They are 
situated on theisland of Toboga, in the Bay of Panama. 

The head-quarters of the Company are at 

Liverpool William Just, General Manager. 

Callao George Petrie, Resident Manager on the Pacific. 

Panama Charles H. Bidwell, Agent. 



160 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



6th. THE ROYAL MAIL STEAM PACKET COMPANY, PLYING BETWEEN THE 
WEST INDIES, MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND PANAMA. 

Offices — 55 Moorgate Street, London, K. T. Eeep, Secretary; Canute 
Road, Southampton, Captain W. Vincent, Superintendent. 

Foreign Agencies on the Continent of Europe, and at the termini of Routes in 
the West Indies. 

Paris Messrs. Pritchard and Monneron, 4 Rue Rossini. 

Havre Messrs. Davidson and Co. 

Hamburg Messrs. Hundeiker and Abegg. 

St. Thomas J. B. Cameron, Esq., Superintendent. 

Aspinwall W. Ritchie, Esq., Resident Traffic Manager. 

Panama C. A. Henderson, Esq., H.B.M.'s Consul. 

Havana J. T. Crawford, Esq., C.B., H.B.M.'s Consul General. 

Vera Cruz C. Markoe, Esq. 

Tampico Messrs. Jolly and Co. 

Jamaica Captain Cooper, R.N., Superintendent. 

Trinidad Messrs. H. Scott and Son. 

Barbadoes Messrs. M. Cavan and Co. 

Demerara Messrs. Rose, Duff, and Co. 

Belize Captain A. W. Cox. 

London Wheatley, Starr, and Co., 156 Cheapside. 

List of Ships. 



No. 


Station. 


Names. 


Registered 
Tonnage. 


Horse 
Power. 


Names of 
Captains. 


1. 


On West India service. 


Shannon ... 


3472 


800 


G. Abbott. 


2. 


u a 


Seine 


3440 


800 


R. Revett. 


3. 


u a 


Atrato 


3126 


800 


F. Woolley. 


4. 


a a 


La Plata.... 


2404 


1000 




5. 


a it 


Tasmanian. 


2253 


550 


C. G. Weller. 


6. 


a n 


Tamar 


1707 


400 


P.M.Woolcott. 


7. 


a a 


Thames 


1889 


430 


A. Hole. 


8. 


a a 


Trent 


1856 


430 


J. T. Moir. 


9. 


a a 


Solent 


1689 


400 


E. M. Leeds. 


10. 


a n 


Teviot 


1744 


450 


J. M. Gillies. 


11. 


n a 


Clyde 


1371 


430 


H. P. Lewis. 


12. 


a a 


Conway 


895 


260 


W. Heenan. 


13. 


a u 


Wve 


752 


180 




14. 


a cc 


Derwent.... 


794 


260 


E. West. 


15. 


a a 


Prince 


398 


200 




16. 


On Brazil service 


Magdalena. 


2567 


800 


R. Woolward. 


17. 


it a 


Oneida 


2284 


530 


T. A. Bevis. 


18. 
19. 


On transport service... 


Tyne 


1916 
1834 


400 
440 


J. H. Jellicoe. 
F. Reeks. 


Avon 


20. 


On River Plate route.. 


Mersey 


1001 


250 


R. Curie wis. 


21. 




Parana 


2730 


800 




22. 
23. 




Dee 


1699 
1895 


440 
430 




Medway 



PAN AN A RAILROAD. 161 

The following are the estimated Dates of Arrival of the outward Mails at the 
principal Stations, commencing from Southampton March 2d, 18GO. 

(The mails are sent on from St. Thomas by the Company's intercolonial ships.) 

From Southampton : 

2d and 17th of each month, arriving at St. Thomas 17th and 2d. 

" " " Aspinwall (Isthmus of 

Panama) 22d and 7th. 

" " " Jamaica 21st and 6th. 

" " " Barbadoes 20th and 5th. 

" " " Trinidad 22d and 7th. 

" " " Demerara 22d and 7th. 

2d of each month, arriving at Havana (one mail each month) 22d idem. 
" " " Vera Cruz " 2Gth " 

" " " Tampico " 28th " 

" " " Carthagena " 24th " 

" " " Santa.Martha " 26th " 

17th " " Belize " 10th following m'th. 

" " Grey town " 10th 

The following are the estimated Dates of Departure of the homeward Mails 
from the principal Stations, commencing with the Mails in reply to those from 
Southampton March 2d. 

(The mails are conveyed to St. Thomas by the Company's intercolonial ships.) 

From: 
Tampico (one mail each month) 29th, reaching Southampton 29th following m'th. 
Santa Martha " 27th, " " 29th " 

Vera Cruz " 2d,* " " 29th idem. 

Havana " 8th.* " " 29th " 

Carthagena " 5th,* " " 29th " 

Belize " 17th,* " " 14th following m'th. 

Greytown " 19th, " " 14th " 

Demerara 9th* and 24th of each month. ) s -g . 

Trinidad 9th* and 24th " " /wS^-g 4 

Barbadoes 11th* and 26th " " la B^tS 

Jamaica 10th* and 25th " " ( M Js § ? 

Aspinwall (Isthmus of Panama).. 9th* and 24th " " IfSsrSS" 

St. Thomas 15th* and 30th " " J £^S 

N.B. — The estimated dates of departure which are marked thus * above 
will be a day earlier when the preceding month comprised 31 days. 

Notice. — The Company will not be responsible for the maintenance of 
passengers, or for their loss of time during any detention consequent upon 
the occurrence of any cause to prevent the vessels from meeting at the ap- 
pointed places ; nor for any delay arising out of accidents ; nor for any loss 
or damage arising from perils of the seas, or from machinery, boilers, or 
steam, or from any act, neglect, or default whatsoever of the pilot, master, 
or mariners ; nor from any consequences arising from sanitaiy regulations 
or precautions which the Company's officers or local government authorities 
may deem necessary, or should such sanitary regulations or precautions pre- 
vent embarkation or disembarkation ; and if, in consequence of such sani- 
tary regulations or precautions, passengers should have to be conveyed to 
their destination by a circuitous route, or to remain (with the consent of the 
Company's officers) on board the Company's vessels beyond the time at 
which, under ordinary circumstances, they would disembark, the Company 



162 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



will, in lieu of additional passage-money, etc., charge only at the rate of 10s. 
per diem for victualing during the extra time each adult cabin passenger 
may have been on board, and in proportion for other classes of passengers. 



PASSENGER FARES, WHICH INCLUDE THE USE OF BEDDING- AND LINEN, STEW- 
ARD'S FEES, AND ALL OTHER CHARGES EXCEPT FOR WINES, SPIRITS, MALT 
LIQUORS, AND MINERAL WATERS. 



Atlantic Voyages (see Reg 


illations, pages 165 and 166). 


OUTWABD. 


FARES OUT OK HOME. 


HOMEWARD. 


Leaves 
Southampton 
each Month. 


Destination. 


Berths* in 
after Cabins 
(except outside 
Cabins on the 
main Deck) 
and in main 
Deck forward 
Cabins. 


Berths in 

lower Deck 

forward 

Cabins. 


From what 
Places. 


Due at 

Southampton 
each Month. 


Each Berth.f 


Each Berth. 


2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
17th 
2d and 17th 
2d 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 

2d and 17th 

17th 

2d and 17th 

2d 
17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17tb 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 

2d 

2d 
2d and 17th 
2d and 17th 

2d 


Antigua 

Barbadoes... 
Blewfields ... 
Carriacou.... 
Carthagena.. 
Aspinwall ... 
Demerara ... 
Dominica.... 

Granada 

Greytown 

Guadaloupe . 

Havana 

Honduras 

Jacmel 

Jamaica 

Martinique . . 
Porto Rico .. 

St. Kitts 

St. Lucia 

St. Thomas.. 
St. Vincent.. 
Sta. Martha. 

Tampico 

Tobago 

Trinidad 

Vera •Cruz... 


£ s. 

38 10 
38 10 
44 
38 10 
44 
44 
38 10 
38 10 
18 14 

38 10 
44 
38 10 
44 
44 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
38 10 
44 
49 10 
38 10 
38 10 
49 10 


£ s. 
33 
33 
38 10 
33 
38 10 
38 10 
33 
33 
18 14 

33 
38 10 
33 
38 10 
38 10 
33 
33 
33 
33 
33 
33 
33 
33 
38 10 
44 
33 
33 
44 


Antigua 

Barbadoes... 
Blewfields ... 

Carriacou 

Carthagena.. 
Aspinwall.... 
Demerara.... 
Dominica .... 
Fayal (if 
touched at) 

Granada 

Greytown .... 
Guadaloupe . 

Havana 

Honduras 

Jacmel 

Jamaica 

Martinique . . 
Porto Rico.. 

St. Kitts 

St. Lucia 

St. Thomas.. 
St. Vincent.. 
Sta. Martha. 

Tampico 

Tobago....... 

Trinidad 

Vera Cruz... 


14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th 

14th and 29th 

29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th 

14th and 29th 

29th 

14th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

29th 

29th 

14th and 29th 

14th and 29th 

29th 



* A whole after cabin secured for the exclusive use of one passenger (not heing an out- 
side cabin on the main deck) is to be charged as a berth and a half, calculated at the rate 
shown in the column marked t above. 

t For an outside cabin, or for a berth therein on the main deck aft, an additional charge 
of £5 is to be made to each passenger beyond the fares indicated respectively in the pre- 
ceding clause and in the column marked t above. 

In future, no whole cabins on the main deck forward, or on the lower deck forward, of 
any of the Company's ships, are to be let as single cabins. 

The above distinctions in accommodation apply more particularly to the Atlantic voyages 
between Southampton and St. Thomas, and vice versa, but they will also be adhered to as 
far as practicable on board the intercolonial vessels. 

The difference in the rates of passage-money shown above refers merely to the sleeping- 
cabins ; in all other respects the passengers will be precisely on the same footing. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 163 

Return Tickets. — Return tickets issued to cabin passengers for Atlantic 
voyages with an abatement of 25 per cent, on the passage-money. Such 
tickets to be paid for when issued, and not to be transferable. To be avail- 
able if the parties holding the same embark on the return voyage within six 
calendar months (but in the case of Colon [AspinwallJ within twelve calen- 
dar months) from the date of their first embarkation ; and no allowance will 
be made to such parties if they do not make the return voyage by the Com- 
pany's vessels. Should there be no available accommodation in the ship by 
which the holder wishes to embark on the return voyage, he will be entitled 
to a passage by the first subsequent opportunity. In all such cases certifi- 
cates must be obtained from the Company's agents or captains, specifying 
the dates of application, and that no accommodation could then be afforded. 

Children. — Of the children of cabin passengers under three years of age, 
one to be earned free of charge ; any other under that age to be charged as 
three years and under eight ; those three years and under eight years, to pay 
one fourth the cabin-passage rate paid by their parents, and four such chil- 
dren to be entitled to one berth. 

Passengers on Warrant-officers' Scale. — A limited number of artisans, em- 
igrants, etc., to be victualed on the same footing as the ship's warrant-offi- 
cers, and supplied with bunks and bedding, will be conveyed, when there is 
room for them, from Southampton to the West Indies, Colon (Aspinwall), or 
Mexico for £25 each. 

Return tickets are not to be issued to passengers of this class. 

Servants. — Passengers' servants can not be booked as deck passengers. 

Passengers' male servants to pay one half, and female two thirds of the 
lowest rates established for adult saloon passengers, and no abatement to be 
made on account of age. Men servants will be berthed in the fore part of 
the ship ; women servants will have beds made up in the ladies' saloon. 

Deck Passengers can only be conveyed intercolonially . — Only troops, com- 
mon sailors, or laborers to be conveyed as deck passengers ; to find their 
own provisions and bedding, and not admitted abaft the chimney, and to pay 
one fourth the cabin fare. Children of deck passengers to pay half the deck 
fare, when three years or above, and not exceeding twelve years of age, and 
when under three years to be taken free. N.B. — No deck passenger is to be 
booked for St. Thomas. 

Dogs, Carriages, Horses, Cattle, etc. — Dogs to be charged at one eighth 
the fare paid by their owners. 

Carriages, horses, live-stock, etc. (for the shipment of which special per- 
mission must be obtained from Captain W. Vincent, the Company's super- 
intendent at Southampton), will be conveyed only under special form of 
ticket, which provides for the owner's undertaking all risk of conveyance 
whatsoever, as the Company will not be responsible for any injury or dam- 
age (however caused) occurring while on board the Company's ships, or in 
embarkation, transfer, or disembarkation ; and the shippers must in all 
cases provide food, boxes, pens, or coops. 

Carriages measuring 3 tons or under, £12 each. 

Carriages measuring above 3 tons, at the rate of £4 per ton measurement. 

Horses, colts, and heifers, to St. Thomas, £20 each ; to other West Indian 
ports, £25 each. Rams, sheep, and pigs, £5 each ; poultry, 15s. each. 

GP In all cases where passengers are subject in the ordinary course of 
the mail service, as per tables, to a detention of more than four days, that 
is, while waiting the arrival of the vessel by which they are to prosecute 
their voyage, they will have to defray the expenses of their victualing during 
such period of detention. 



164 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



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PANAMA RAILROAD. 165 

Dogs, when conveyed intercolonially, to be charged one eighth of the faro 
paid by their owners. 

Horses, colts, and heifers, when conveyed intercolonially, to be charged 
five sixths of the saloon passenger rate. 

Carriages, ditto, measuring three tons or under, £9 each. Ditto, ditto, 
above three tons, at the rate of £3 per ton measurement. 

Rams, sheep, and pigs, £3 each. Poultry, 10s. each. 

For Conditions of Conveyance, see page 161. 

PASSENGER REGULATIONS, ETC. 

Each ship carries an experienced surgeon. 

No berth is considered engaged until the whole fare is paid. 

Passengers not proceeding after taking their passage, to forfeit half the 
passage-money. 

Passengers are earnestly recommended to conform to established regula- 
tions as respects passports, etc. 

Passengers are not allowed to take on board wines, spirits, or other liquors 
for use during the voyage, an ample stock thereof being provided on board 
at moderate prices. 

There are French and English cooks on board. 

No person can be received on board the Company's ships when suffering 
from any infectious disorder ; and if, in the course of the voyage, any pas- 
senger should be found to be suffering from a disorder of that character, he 
will be required, at his own expense, to find accommodation at any port in 
which the vessel may happen to be at the time of, or at the first port she 
may reach after discovery of the existence of the disorder, it being under- 
stood that, when sufficiently recovered, such passenger will be conveyed to his 
destination in one of the Company's vessels. 

The captains will be most careful to avoid all personal prefei-ence or par- 
tiality in allotting accommodation on board the Company's ships. Within 
the prescribed limits, priority is always to be given according to the dates on 
which passengers were originally booked and the passage-money paid. If 
paid through the Company's agent, he will be careful, when he hands the 
money to the captain, to furnish also the date when it is paid for notation 
on the passage ticket. 

The respective classes of cabin accommodation in the homeward steamer 
from St. Thomas will be apportioned as follows, viz. : the passengers from 
routes Nos. 2 and 4, and those booked at St. Thomas, are to be allowed pri- 
ority of berths on the starboard side, according to the date of their tickets, 
that is to say, the oldest date from No. 2 route to have the first allotment, 
the oldest date from No. 4 route the second, and the oldest date from St. 
Thomas the third ; this plan to be repeated until the whole of the cabin ac- 
commodation on that side has been disposed of. The passengers from all 
other sources are to be allowed berths on the port side in the same manner. 
Should there be an excessive demand on the one side and a deficiency on the 
other, the available berths are to be allotted to passengers from each route 
alternately according to priority in date of tickets. 

No passenger booking for a berth in a cabin is to be accommodated in a 
cabin by himself, so long as he can be placed in a cabin of the same class or 
price with another passenger not booked for a whole cabin. 

Transatlantic passengers are always to have priority of cabins over inter- 
colonial passengers, whether previously booked or not. This is not, how- 
ever, to extend to the displacing of any intercolonial passenger while any 
other cabin berth of similar description is vacant. 

Transatlantic passengers desiring it may, on taking their tickets, secure 
to themselves the privilege of remaining at an intermediate port from the 



166 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

time of arrival at such port till the next steamer of the Company calls there, 
viz., for a fortnight or a month, as the case may be, but in such cases the 
place must be specified, and a corresponding notation made on the ticket, 
upon the understanding, moreover, that on re-embarking the passenger must 
be content with inferior accommodation if there should be none vacant simi- 
lar to that originally engaged. In the event of there being no room on 
board the vessel by which the passenger may be entitled to proceed, they 
will be allowed accommodation by the first subsequent vessel able to afford it. 

Homeward passengers taking a whole or single after cabin are not to have 
another passenger intruded upon them, unless the number of passengers 
should accumulate by successive transhipments so as to render it unavoid- 
ble to occupy the remaining berth or berths in the cabin, in which case the 
charge will be only as for one berth in a cabin throughout. Passengers, 
however, may secure to themselves the exclusive right to a whole cabin by 
the payment of £10 extra at or prior to their first embarking. 

Should any homeward-bound passenger, upon subsequent transhipment, 
fail to obtain accommodation similar to that for which he originally paid, he 
is to be charged the inferior fare throughout. 

Whenever there may be more passengers than can be accommodated with 
cabin berths, and who may, in consequence, be obliged to sleep in cots, or 
otherwise not in any cabin, an abatement of £5 from the lowest cabin rate 
will be made upon such occasions, but no passenger will be allowed this 
abatement so long as there is a cabin bed berth unoccupied. 

When passengers fail to obtain on board the ship conveying them to En- 
gland the same sort of accommodation as that for which they originally paid, 
the captains will furnish to each of such persons a certificate specifying the 
description of berth paid for and the accommodation subsequently afforded 
on the voyage to Southampton, which document will entitle the respective 
parties, on its production at the Company's office in London, to payment 
of the abatements. Certificates are likewise to be granted to contract pas- 
sengers when compelled to share fore cabin accommodation with others. 

Should any outward-bound passenger upon subsequent transhipment fail 
to obtain accommodation similar to that for which he originally paid (as this 
can only occur when the voyage is nearly finished), he is to be allowed a de- 
duction of five shillings per day for every day he is compelled to occupy such 
inferior accommodation. 

Should any outward or homeward bound passenger shift from the accom- 
modation for which he was originally booked to a berth for which a higher 
charge is established, or from a berth in a cabin to a whole cabin, he is to 
be charged the superior fare throughout. 

There is to be no difference in the fares between the fore, after, and main 
deck cabins, nor between a whole cabin and a berth in a cabin, so far as 
mere intercolonial passages are concerned ; the difference of fares being only 
intended to apply to transatlantic passages out and home. 

Although ladies may have sleeping berths allotted to them in the ladies' 
saloon, yet it is to be open for the use of all the ladies on board between 
9 A.M. and 9 P.M. every day. 

Intercolonial passengers must not be booked farther than they can be con- 
veyed by the vessel in which they embark, or by other vessels, expected to 
be met with, to which they can be directly transferred. 

Passengers intending to embark abroad will apply to the agents, but the 
passage-money is to be paid on board, either by the agents (if they have re- 
ceived it) or by the passengers themselves. 

Embarkation at Southampton. — The Company's steam tender will convey 
passengers on board free of charge at Southampton, leaving the docks for 
that purpose not later than 30 minutes after 1 1 A.M. on the day of sailing. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 167 

Baggage, except carpet-bags and hat-boxes, must be shipped the previous 
day. No heavy baggage will be received on board on the day of sailing. 

Baggage. — Any passenger is liable to a penalty of £100 who carries gun- 
powder or other goods of a dangerous nature (stat. 17 and 18 Vic, c. 10-1) ; 
for example, lucifer matches, chemicals, or any articles of an inflammable 
or damaging nature. 

Baggage for shipment at Southampton must be addressed to the care of 
shipping agents there, and, as before stated, must be shipped the day pre- 
vious to the ship's departure. 

Arrangements have been made by which passengers can effect insurance 
on then* baggage at the Company's office in London. 

Each adult saloon passenger allowed to carry luggage free of charge to 
the extent of 20 cubic feet measurement, children and sen-ants in propor- 
tion; and each adult passenger on the warrant-officers' or artisans' scale, 
10 cubic feet. With a view to prevent mistakes on landing or transhipment, 
passengers are strongly recommended to label each parcel of their luggage 
with their name and destination. 

Each deck passenger is allowed 5G lbs. of baggage. 

All luggage will have to pass through the Custom-house at the port of 
destination. 

All extra luggage to be charged as for measurement goods, but without 
primage. 

Merchandise can not be carried under the name of luggage, but must be 
shipped according to the Company's regulations for cargo, etc. Whenever 
an attempt may be discovered to carry merchandise as luggage, freight will 
be charged at the rate of is. per cubic foot. All specie, bullion, or other 
treasure carried by passengers, above the value of £150, to be shipped as 
treasure, and charged for at the established rates of freight. 

The Company will not be responsible for any loss, damage, or detention 
of luggage under any circumstances ; nor for specie, bullion, jewelry, or 
other treasure belonging to passengers, unless the same be shipped as such 
at the established rates of freight. 

Foreign Currency. — The Spanish dollar is to be taken every where at the 
rate of 4s. 2d. sterling; the doubloon at G4s. • the American eagle and its 
fractional parts at the rate established by H. M. proclamation, dated 19th 
of August, 1853, viz. : the eagle at 41s. sterling; the half eagle at 20s. 6c?., 
the quarter eagle at 10s. 3d. ; and the gold dollar at 4s. Id. 

In foreign ports the fares specified in the intercolonial table are to be paid 
in silver dollars, or their equivalent in other current coin ; this rule applies 
also to the British colonies, except that notes of the West India Colonial 
Bank are to be taken as equivalent. Gold or silver five -franc pieces are to 
be received at the rate of four shillings each when tendered in payment of 
passage-money, but only by persons embarking at or for Martinique or 
Guadaloupe. 

SPECIE, TREASURE, CAKGO, AND PARCELS. 

Outivard. 
For through rates to ports in the Pacific, see pages 172, 173. 
Specie and treasure may be forwarded by the packets from Southampton 
to any port at which they touch at the following rates, viz. : 

Quicksilver 2 per cent, on value from Southampton. 

Plate 2 " " 

Specie, Jewelry, and Precious ) 1 " from Southampton, or 1 J- when 

Stones \ received by the Company in London. 

Copper Coin £7 per ton from Southampton. 



168 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

For particulars, apply at 55 Moorgate Street, or to Mr. W. Ritchie, the 
Company's Cargo Superintendent, Southampton. 

When packages of specie or treasure are sent to Southampton, they must 
be forwarded to the care of shipping agents there. 

No bills of lading will be given for less freight than £1 Is. 

Packages for Aspinwall will not be received when consigned "to order," 
but a consignee must be named. 

Outward Cargo. 

A limited quantity of goods can be forwarded by the packets of the 2d and 
17th of each month from Southampton to Barbadoes, Granada, Jamaica, 
Demerara, Trinidad, St. Thomas, Aspinwall ; by the packet of the 2d of 
each month to Carthagena and Santa Martha ; and by that of the 17th to 
Honduras and Greytown. 

For through rates to ports in the Pacific, see pages 170, 171. 

No package above five hundred weight to be received, and none to exceed 
a cube of 27 feet, nor in length 4 feet 4 inches. 

Packages cubing more than 4 feet can not be taken to Greytown. 

No bills of lading will be given for less freight than £1 Is. 

Packages for Aspinwall will not be received when consigned "to order," 
but a consignee must be named. 

Wine and beer can be shipped at Southampton only by special permission 
from Captain Vincent, the Company's superintendent there. 

The following are the Rates of Freight, which must be prepaid: By meas- 
urement, £6 per ton, or 3s. per cubic foot, with 5 per cent, primage ; by 
weight, £5 per ton and 5 per cent, primage — the Company reserving the 
right to charge by measurement or by weight. Cinnamon, Id. per pound. 

Goods for shipment must be addressed to the care of agents at Southamp- 
ton, and must be there, at latest, at noon on the last day of each month if 
for shipment by the steamer of the 2d, and at noon on the 15th if for ship- 
ment by the steamer of the 17th of the month ; but when the day of depart- 
ure falls on a Monday, the latest period will be one day previous to the above 
dates. 

For particulars, apply to Mr. W. Ritchie, the Company's Cargo Superin- 
tendent, Southampton. 

Outward Parcels and Periodicals are received at the Company's offices in 
London and Southampton for transmission by the steamers of the 2d and 
17th of each month, to St. Kitts, Antigua, Guadaloupe, Dominique, Mar- 
tinique, St. Lucia, Tobago, St.Vincent, Barbadoes, Demerara, Granada, Trin- 
idad, Jacmel, Jamaica, St. Thomas, and Aspinwall ; by the steamer of the 
17th for Honduras and Greytown ; and by the steamer of the 2d for Havana, 
Vera Cruz, Tampico, Santa Martha, and Carthagena. The weight of a 
package or parcel for St. Kitts, Antigua, Guadaloupe, Dominique, Martinique, 
St. Lucia, Tobago, and St. Vincent, must not exceed half a hundred weight. 
The cube of a package or parcel for Greytown must not exceed 4 feet. 

To Havana, Vera Cruz, and Tampico, parcels containing only samples 
and periodicals can be conveyed. 

Packages and parcels (not exceeding 5 cubic feet) must be delivered at the 
London office before noon upon the 14th if intended for transmission by the 
steamer leaving Southampton upon the 17th of the month, and before noon 
upon the 28th if intended for shipment by the vessel leaving upon the 2d of 
the following month. 

Periodical publications, with the covers open at both ends, can be booked 
at the London office until 2 o'clock on the day previous to the sailing of the 
packet, excepting when the day of sailing falls on Monday, in which case 
not later than 2 o'clock on the previous Saturday. 



PANAMA KAILKOAD. 169 

Parcels and periodicals, if sent to the care of an agent at Southampton, 
can be received at the Company's cargo office at that place until 10 A.M. on 
the day of the departure of the steamers for the West Indies. 

Rates (which must he prepaid). 

For through rates to Panama and ports in the South Pacific, see pages 
174, 175. 

The following rates include all charges except insurance (which, however, 
can be effected at the Company's office in London), whether the packages are 
received at London or Southampton : By measurement, 1 cubic foot and un- 
der, 7s. 6d. per package; above 1 foot and not exceeding 2, lis. Gd. ; above 
2 feet and not exceeding 3, 15s. ; above 3 feet, 5s. per foot, up to 1-4 feet, 
beyond which measurement no packages can be received at the parcel rate. 

Packages can not be received at the London office if they exceed 5 cubic 
feet, but in that case they must be sent to Southampton. 

By weight, at the rate of 10s. per cwt. 

No package weighing more than 5 cwt. can be received at the parcel rate. 

The Company reserves to itself the right to charge by measurement or by 
weight. 

Quarterly publications and pamphlets, 2s. each ; monthly publications, Is. 
each. 

Each package must be fully and distinctly addressed, and contents and 
value declared. 

No parcels are to contain letters or bills. 

The Company will not be responsible for the act of God, the queen's ene- 
mies, fire on shore or afloat, or any other dangers and accidents of the seas, 
rivers, and steam navigation. All parcels must be applied for to the agents 
of the Company at the port of delivery, except those for St. Thomas and 
Carthagena, which must be taken from alongside at consignee's risk and ex- 
pense. At Martinique, the landing charges are to be paid by the consignee, 
and at Greytown the packages will be landed by the Company, but at the 
consignee's risk. All parcels subject to duty must be cleared from the Cus- 
tom-house in the usual manner by the parties to whom they are addressed, 
they paying all duties and other expenses attendant upon the same. The 
Company will not be answerable for any package, in case of loss, damage, or 
detention, beyond the value of £5, unless by special agreement. 

REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO CARGO AND PARCELS. 

Packages, of whatever description, sent to Southampton, must be forward- 
ed to the care of shipping agents there for delivery by them to the Com- 
pany. 

Shippers are earnestly recommended to have their goods packed securely 
in tin or wooden cases, to prevent the possibility of damage in shipment, 
transfer, or disembarkation. 

Brown paper parcels will not be received, and the use of canvas wrappers 
is strongly recommended to shippers as a means of security. 

All deeds must be packed in tin cases. 

The Company decline to take on board their vessels medicinal fluids, oil, 
balsam, sugar, molasses, cotton, spirits, gunpowder, vitriol, tar, pitch, tur- 
pentine, acids, ether, chloroform, Lucifer matches, percussion caps, or any 
other articles of a dangerous, damaging, or inflammable nature. Any per- 
son or persons forwarding such commodities for shipment, without giving no- 
tice to the Company, will be liable, by the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, 
to a penalty of £100. 

Wine and beer can not be shipped at Southampton except by special per- 
mission of the Company's superintendent there. 

H 



170 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Packages containing plants can not be shipped, unless by special agree- 
ment exempting the Company from all liability in the event of damage. 

Double freight will be imposed in all cases of detection, where attempts 
may be made, by smuggling specie, etc., to evade the Company's established 
charges. 

No article of any kind to be received on board without going through the 
established Customs' regulations and formalities. 

Packages on arrival at destination will be lodged in the Custom-house, 
whence they will have to be retired by the consignees, or by agents commis- 
sioned by them to do so, at their expense. 

All packages must have the port of destination distinctly marked thereon, 
or they can not be received for shipment. 

No package above five hundred weight to be received, and none to exceed 
a cube of 27 feet, nor in length 4 feet 4 inches. 

Homeward and Intercolonial Freight. 

lE^p 3 It is to be understood that all regulations or notices relating to out- 
ward traffic will hold good, where applicable, to homeward and intercolonial 
traffic, although they may not be repeated under the latter heads. 

Homeward Specie and Treasure can be shipped at any of the ports touched 
at by the Company's steamers at the following rates, viz. : 
Specie, bullion, platina, diamonds, pearls, emeralds, and all 
other precious stones, unset, being exempt from duty, deliv- 
erable at the Bank of England or Southampton, and jewelry 

subject to duty deliverable at Southampton only on value 1£ per cent. 

Ditto ditto, deliverable at the Branch Bank of France, 

Havre li% " 

Specie or bullion, from Martinique or Guadaloupe, deliverable 

ditto on value 

Consignments under £50 in value £1 Is. 

" " £100 " £1 105. 

" " £150 " £2 2s. 

" of and above £150 in value l^percent. 

Plate, subject to duty, deliverable at Southampton on value 2 " 

Ditto, deliverable at the Branch Bank of France, Havre 2j%- " 

Copper coin, deliverable at Southampton £7 per ton weight. 

Copper ore, mineral sand, etc see Homeward Cargo. 

No primage is charged on the foregoing. 
For rates on treasure from the Pacific, see pages 172-174. 
No package of specie, jewelry, etc., to be conveyed, and no bills of lading 
to be granted, for less freight than £1 Is., or five silver dollars. 

Homeward Cargo can be shipped for Southampton at the following ports, 
viz. : Barbadoes, Jamaica, St. Thomas, Porto Bico, Tampico, Vera Cruz, 
Havana, Honduras, Trinidad, Carthagena, Santa Martha, Aspinwall, Grey- 
town, Demerara, Granada. 

No bills of lading granted for less freight than £1 Is. 

The following are the rates payable on delivery of the goods at South- 
ampton, viz. : 
Copper ore, copper and silver alloy, cupel stuff, 

and mineral sand £5 per ton weight. 

A1 , { He?, per lb. or Is. dd. per 

Alpaca wool \ foot measurement. 

Ginger £7 per ton weight. 

Coffee, cocoa, and arrow-root £5 " " 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 171 

India-rubber in solid pieces £5 per ton weight. 

Sarsaparilla, jalap, and other dry drugs l?d. per lb. 

Divi divi Id. " 

Peruvian bark Id. " 

Pimento, cochineal, indigo, gums, and beeswax ... Id. " 

Plantain fibre Hd. " 

Pines, oranges, or other green fruits or plants, ) £5 per ton measurement 
packed in hampers, barrels, or boxes S of 40 cubic feet. 

Cigars and leaf tobacco £5 per ditto ditto. 

Measurement goods 3s. 6d. per cubic foot. 

Cases containing preserved turtle 2s. Qd. " " 

Turtle, on the quantity landed alive at Southamp- 
ton ; but the Company not liable for losses by 
death or disaster £1 5s. per cwt. 

Vanilla on value 1£ per cent. 

" deliverable at Havre " 1-^ " 

Cochineal, " " Ikd. per lb. 

Five per cent, primage is charged on all homeward freight except vanilla. 
Balsam will not be received on board the Company's steamers. 
Homeward Parcels and Periodicals, including small parcels of succades, 

arrow-root, etc., will be charged at the same rates as outward parcels, but 

deliverable at Southampton. 
Freight must be prepaid. For rates, etc., see pages 166, 167. 

Intercolonial Specie, Cargo, and Parcels. 

Specie can be shipped for any port touched at by the packets. 

No package of specie is to be conveyed, and no bills of lading are to be 
granted, for less freight than five silver dollars. 

Freight on specie, jewelry, pearls, diamonds, and other precious stones, to 
be prepaid at the port of shipment : Exceeding 2500 miles, 1 per cent. ; ex- 
ceeding 1000 miles, and not above 2500 miles, f per cent. ; not exceeding 
1000 miles, | per cent. 

The distance between St. Thomas or intermediate places and Demerara is 
to be considered as not exceeding 1000 miles. 

No sums under 5000 dollars are to be conveyed, however short the dis- 
tance, at a lower rate than i per cent. ; but when larger amounts are to be 
remitted from one British colony to another, or between any places visited 
by the Company's vessels eastward of Jamaica, provided, in either case, the 
distance is within 800 miles, the rate will be i per cent. The tables of routes 
to determine the distances. 

Copper coin, £7 per ton weight. 

Intercolonial Hates on Goods to be prepaid at Port of Shipment. 
Goods can be forwarded between Barbadoes, St. Thomas, Aspinwall, Dem- 
erara, Jamaica, Greytown, Trinidad, Granada, Carthagena, Honduras, San- 
ta Martha, and to these places from Havana and other foreign ports ; but 
cargo can not be carried to foreign ports, with the before-mentioned excep- 
tions, except by special permission. 

£3 10s. per ton measurement of 40 cubic feet. 

Cocoa and coffee, £3 10s. per ton, on the gross weight. 

Indigo and other dry drugs, cochineal, Id. per lb. 

Divi divi, \d. per lb. 

Beeswax, f d. per lb. 

j. i t i From St. Thomas to Barbadoes, Trinidad, ) 1 silver doIlaT 

Snvkin^ \ Demerara, or Jamaica 5 per barrel. 

provisions, ^ From St#Tll0mas t0 Greytown..... H do. do. 



172 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

No primage is charged. 

No bills of lading for merchandise will be granted for less freight than 2£ 
silver dollars. 

Balsam will not be received on board the Company's steamers. 

Intercolonial Parcels carried to all the places named under the head of 
"Outward Parcels," to be prepaid at the port of shipment, to be charged 
one fifth less than the transatlantic scale, and to be restricted in size and 
weight, as indicated under that head for different ports. See p. 166, 167. 

Preference is always to be given to transatlantic over intercolonial cargo. 

ISTHMUS OF PANAMA AND THE PACIFIC. 

Trains now run daily across the Isthmus of Panama, thus affording an 
easy means of transit for passengers, specie, goods, etc. 

Under arrangement with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, whose 
vessels run from Panama southward, through tickets (comprising the privi- 
lege of stopping at an intermediate port, as stated in "General Passenger 
Regulations, " page 165) can be obtained to or from Southampton and ports 
on the west coast of South America, but not including the providing or ex- 
pense of the transit of passengers or their luggage across the Isthmus of Pana- 
ma. Also, return tickets to or from those ports (including Panama), with 
an abatement of 25 per cent, on the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's 
proportion of passage-money, available for twelve months, under the condi- 
tions mentioned in page 163. 

Goods, etc., for San Francisco and Victoria (British Columbia). 
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company have completed arrangements 
for granting through bills of lading for measurement goods, jewelry, and 
plate, shipped by their steamers leaving Southampton on the 2d and 17th 
of each month, to be delivered at San Francisco and Victoria (British Co- 
lumbia) at the following rates of freight : 



To be paid on shipment of goods," 
etc. : 






To be paid on delivery of goods, 
etc., at destination. 

Goods : From Aspinwall to San 
Francisco, $80 per ton measure- 
ment, with 5 per cent, primage; 
from Aspinwall to Victoria, $100 
per ton measurement, with 5 per 
cent, primage. 

Jewelry, on value : From Aspin 
wall to San Francisco, 2 per cent. ; 
from Aspinwall to Victoria, 2£ do. 

Plate, on value: From Aspinwall 
to San Francisco, 4 per cent. ; from 
^Aspinwall to Victoria, 5 per cent. 

No bill of lading will be issued for less freight than one guinea to Aspin- 
wall. 

Specie, Goods, etc., from England or the West Indies, for Ports in the Pacific 
south of Panama, viz., Buenaventura, Tumaco, Guayaquil, Payta, Lambayeque, 
Huanchaco, Callao, Islay, Arica, Iquiqe, Cobija, Caldera, Coquimbo, Valpa- 
raiso. 

Cargo for Lambayeque and Huanchaco is carried on to Callao, where ifc 
is transhipped to the steamer proceeding northward. 

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company have effected an arrangement 
with the Panama Railroad Company and the Pacific Steam Navigation 



Goods : From Southampton to 
Aspinwall, £6 per ton measure- 
ment, with 5 per cent, primage. 

Jewelry, on value : From Lon- 
don to Aspinwall, 1£ per cent. ; 
from Southampton to Aspinwall, 1 
per cent. 

Plate, on value : From South- 
ampton to Aspinwall, 2 per cent. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 178 

Company for the delivery of treasure, measurement goods, and quicksilver, 
from Southampton and the* West Indian ports hereafter specified,* under 
through bills of lading, at ports in the South Pacific, and at the respective 
rates of freight under-mentioned, which must be paid on shipment of the 
goods, whether at Southampton or in the West Indies. 

Measurement Goods from Southampton, shipped by Steamer of 2d and 11th of 
each Month. 

Per ton measurement (with 5 per cent, primage) : 

To Buenaventura £12 15*. 

To ports south of Buenaventura, including Guayaquil 13 5 

ToPayta 13 15 

To ports south of Payta, including Callao 14 5 

To ports south of Callao, including Valparaiso 15 5 

No bill of lading for goods to any of the above ports will be granted for 
less freight than £2 2s. 

From the West Indies, viz., *St. Tliomas, Havana, Jamaica, Barbadocs, Trin- 
idad, Demerara, Greytoivn, Carthagena, and Santa Martha. 

To any of the above-mentioned Pacific ports south of Panama, the rate of 
freight for measurement goods will be £2 10s. per ton less than from South- 
ampton to those places, and no primage will be charged. 

No bill of lading for goods from the West Indies to any of the above ports 
will be granted for less freight than £1 lis. Qd. 

Treasure from England, or the before-mentioned West Indian ports, at a 
uniform rate, viz. : For specie (gold) and jewelry, when received in London, 
2f per cent, on value. 

No bill of lading for gold or jewelry will be granted in London for less 
freight than £2 Is. 6d. 

Of jewelry only small packages will be received "in London. 

For specie (gold) and jewelry, when received in Southampton or the West 
Indies, 2^ per cent, on value. 

No bill of lading for gold or jewelry will be granted in Southampton or 
the West Indies for less freight than £2 5s. 

For specie (silver), one eighth per cent, is to be added to the above re- 
spective rates for gold. 

Quicksilver, which must be delivered to the Company at Southampton for 
shipment : To ports as far as Callao inclusive, 5y per cent, on value ; to ports 
beyond Callao, 5| per cent, on value. 

No bill of lading for quicksilver will be granted in Southampton for less 
freight than £5 5s. in the one case, and £5 15s. in the other. 

Parcels not exceeding three cubic feet in measurement will be received at 
the Company's offices in London and Southampton for the ports above-men- 
tioned at the under-mentioned rates, which must be paid on shipment, and 
which include all charges except insurance (which, however, can be effected 
at the Company's office in London), whether the packages are received at 
London or Southampton : One cubic foot and under, £1 ; above 1 cubic foot 
and not exceeding 2, £1 10s. ; above 2 feet and not exceeding 3, £2. 

Under arrangement between the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and 
the Panama Railroad Company, through bills of lading are granted at South- 
ampton as follows : To Central American (Pacific) ports, touched at by the 
steamers of the Panama Railroad Company, viz., Punta Arenas, Realejo, 
La Union, La Libertad, Acajulta, San Jose de Guatemala. 

For goods, at £13 per ton measurement (with 5 per cent, primage), which 
must be paid on shipment. 



174 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £2 2s. 

There is no through parcel or specie rate to these ports. 

Through bills of lading are also granted at Southampton, and in the We6t 
Indies at St. Thomas, Havana, Jamaica, Barbadoes, Trinidad, Demerara, 
Greytown, Carthagena, and Santa Martha, as far as Panama, for specie, 
jewelry, measurement goods, and quicksilver, destined for Panama and the 
North Pacific, at the following rates of freight, which must be paid on ship- 
ment: 

Por goods, etc., from Southampton, £10 per ton measurement (with 5 per 
cent, primage). 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £1 lis. 6d. 

Por goods, etc., from the above West Indian ports, £7 10s. per ton meas- 
urement (without primage). 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £1 Is. 

Por specie (gold) and jewelry, when received in London, If per cent. 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £1 Is. 6d. 

For specie (gold) and jewelry, when received in Southampton or at the 
above West Indian ports, H per cent. 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £1 5s. 

Por specie (silver), one eighth per cent, is to be added to the above re- 
spective rates for gold. 

Por quicksilver, which must be delivered to the Company at Southampton 
for shipment, 3i per cent, on value. 

No bill of lading will be granted for less freight than £3 5s. 

Parcels for Panama not exceeding 3 cubic feet in measurement will be re- 
ceived at the Company's offices in London and Southampton at the follow- 
ing rates, which must be paid on shipment, and which include all charges 
except insurance (which, however, can be effected at the Company's office 
in London), whether the packages are received at London or Southampton : 
One cubic foot and under, 12s. ; above 1 foot and not exceeding 2, 18s. ; 
above 2 feet and not exceeding 3, £1 4s. 

Note. — Por farther information as to when goods, etc., must be ready 
for shipment, and general regulations in regard to cargo and parcels, etc., 
see pages 166, 167, and 168, or apply to 55 Moorgate Street, or to Mr. J. K. 
Linstead, the Company's Cargo Superintendent, Southampton. 

No package above 5 cwt. to be received, and none to exceed a cube of 27 
feet, nor in length 4 feet 4 inches. 

Specie, etc., from Panama and the South Pacific. 

The following rates have been established by the Royal Mail Steam Packet 
Company, in addition to the freight charged by the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
tion Company, or other parties delivering treasure to the agent of the Royal 
Mail Steam Packet Company at Panama, for conveyance to the under-men- 
tioned places, such charges to include transport across the Isthmus, and all 
other expenses thence to the place of destination : 

To Branch Bank 
of France, Havre. 
Specie and bullion from Panama to Southamp- 

i ton or Bank of England 1$ per cent, 1& per cent. 

Pearls, emeralds, and all other precious stones, 
unset being exempt from duty, from Panama 
to Southampton or the Bank of England, on 

value 1} " 2^ 

Jewelry, subject to duty, from Panama to South- 
ampton, on value 1| " li 9 c " 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



175 



Specie, bullion, precious stones, etc., from Panama to British 

Guiana, Vera Cruz, and Tampico 1£ per cen* 

Dito ditto to St. Domingo, Porto Rico, St. Thomas, Wind- 
ward Islands, Havana, Honduras, and Jamaica 1£ " 

Ditto ditto to Carthagena and Greytown # " 

N.B. — The Pacific Steam Navigation Company's charge on specie, etc. ? 
from any port in Chili or Peru, etc., to Panama, for transfer to the Royal 
Mail Steam Packets, is i per cent., which, being added to the rates from Pan- 
ama above stated, will make the charges by through bill of lading, 

To Southampton or the Bank of England 2^ per cent. 

To the Branch Bank of France, Havre 2-^ " 

The through charge on jewelry, pearls, and all other precious stones fron? 
the South Pacific ports is the same as that on specie and bullion. 

Double freight will be imposed in all cases of detection where attempts 
may be made, by smuggling, etc., to evade the Company's established charges. 

Gold, etc., from San Francisco {California). 

Gold, etc., can be shipped at San Francisco, under the through bills of 
lading of the United States Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company and the Roy- 
al Mail Steam Packet Company, for conveyance to England, Havre, or the 
West Indies. 

For particulars as to through rates of freight, etc., apply in San Frances- 
co to W. L. Booker, Esq., H.B.M. Consul, or at the office of the Pacific Mail 
Steam-ship Company. 

Goods from South Pacific Ports to Southampton. 

Through bills of lading are granted at South Pacific ports by the Pacific 
Steam Navigation Company, in conjunction with the Panama Railroad Com- 
pany and the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, at the following through 
rates of freight, payable on delivery of the goods at Southampton : 



Description of goods, etc. 



Shipped at ports 

between Payta 

and Panama, 

including Payta. 



Shipped at ports 
between Callao 
and Payta, in- 
cluding Callao. 



Shipped at ports 
between Valpa- 
raiso and Callao, 
incl. Valparaiso. 



Copper and tin, bars 

Copper and tin ore, in bags .. 

Silver ore 

Coffee, cocoa, and India-rubber 

Orchilla 

Bark* 

Tobacco in leaf 



Per ton weight. 

£ s. d. 

7 2 8 

8 2 8 

8 16 

9 16 
9 



Per ton weight. 



Per ton weight. 

£ s. d. 

7 19 4 

8 19 4 

9 16 
16 
16 



16 



Whalebone 

Panama hats 

Sarsaparilla 

General merchandise. 



Per ton 
measurement. 

11 2 8 
18 9 4 
11 16 
13 8 



15 18 8 

16 8 

Per ton 
measurement. 

11 13 4 
19 10 8 

12 8 
14 



10 

9 

1G 

17 



6 



Per ton 
measurement. 

12 9 4 
21 2 8 

13 6 
15 



Primage at the rate of 5 per cent, will be charged in addition to the above 
rates of freight. 

* Bills of lading will be granted for bark to Havre at an advance of a farthing per lb. on 
the above rates. 



176 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Parcels from South Pacific ports to Southampton at the same rates as 
"Outward Parcels" to those places (see pages 173, 174). 

From Central American {Pacific) Ports to Southampton. 

Through bills of lading are granted by the Panama Railroad Company, in 
conjunction with the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, at the following 
ports, touched at by the Panama Railroad Company's steamers, namely, 
Punta Arenas, Realejo, La Union, La Libertad, Acajutla, San Jose de Gua- 
temala. 

The through rates of freight from the above places to Southampton are as 
under-mentioned, and the freight is payable on delivery of the goods at that 
port : 

On silver ore, £9 per ton weight, with 5 per cent, primage. 

On coffee, £10 per ton weight, with 5 per cent, primage. 

On cochineal and indigo, 2^d. per lb., with 5 per cent, primage. 

Measurement goods, 7s. 6d. per foot, with 5 per cent, primage. 

Also on treasure (gold and silver) from the above places to Southampton 
or the Bank of England, London, 2i per cent, on value, payable on delivery 
of the treasure. 

Cochineal and indigo, deliverable at Havre, 2-rsd. per lb., with 5 per cent, 
primage. 

Balsam will not be received on board the Company's steamers. 

7th. LIVERPOOL AND "WEST INDIA LINE OF SCREW STEAM-SniPS PLYING 
MONTHLY BETWEEN LIVERPOOL AND ASPINWALL. OWNER, MR. ALFRED 
HOLT, 1 INDIA BUILDINGS, LIVERPOOL. 

The following, which are Clyde built iron vessels, A 1 at Lloyd's, compose 
this line: 

New ship (to sail July, 1862), Capt. Middleton, 1005 tons, 120 horsepower. 

"Askalon" '.. " Kidd 991 " 110 " 

"Talisman" " Russell 850 " 90 " " 

" Plantagenet" " Beard 732 " 80 " " 

"Saladin" " Bennett..... 514 " 60 " " 

This line is designed principally for the conveyance of bulky cargo, and 
aims more at regularity and certainty of connection with steamers on the 
Pacific than at high speed. The vessels call, on their outward voyages from 
England, at Port au Prince, in Hayti ; Kingston, Jamaica ; and Santa Mar- 
tha, in New Granada ; and on the return voyages, at Carthagena, Kingston, 
and Port au Prince. The day of sailing from Liverpool is the 8th of each 
month. The voyage to Aspinwall, including all stoppages, is 31 days, the 
date of arrival at that port being the 9th ; the departure thence takes place 
on the 17th. The transit is 32 days, and the arrival in Liverpool is about 
the 19th of the succeeding month. 

Arrangements have been made with the Panama Railroad Company for a 
system of through traffic between Liverpool and the ports of Central America 
touched at by their steamers, and with the Pacific Steam Navigation Com- 
pany for the ports of South America ; also by arrangements with the Lon- 
don and Northwestern Railway Company for an extension of this system to 
London in respect of those articles of produce for which London is the more 
usual destination than Liverpool. 

Negotiations are also pending with the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company 
to include San Francisco and the ports on the west coast of Mexico in the 
through system. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 177 

The folio-wing tariffs show the freights : 

- From Liverpool to 

t:>o^™., f Fine goods, £5 15 per ton of 40 feet. 

ianama 1 Coarse goods, £5 5 " 

Punta Arenas, Realejo, La j 

Union, La Lihertad, Aca- ' Fine goods, £7 10 " " 

jutla, and San Jose de [ Coarse goods, £7 " " 

Guatemala j 

To Liverpool from 

, Indigo and cochineal, 4 cents per lh. net ; hides, 

c t ' a • fi 1 77 cents each; merchandise in cases, etc., 85 
ban Jose Acajutla, ; cents per cubic foot? and the regular niins _ 

ana LA Lubertaa.. pol . tat i n charges established by the tariff of 
f the railroad. 

i Indigo and cochineal, 4 cents per lb. net ; hides, 
75 cents each ; merchandise in cases, etc., 80 
cents per cubic foot, and the regular trans- 
portation charges established by the tariff of 
the railroad. 
| Coffee, ]i| cents per lb. ; hides, 69 cents each ; 
p . J merchandise in cases, etc., 75 cents per cubic 

1 unta Arenas "j foot, and the transportation charges establish- 

[ ed by the tariff of the railroad. 

To London from 

Any ports Indigo and cochineal 4| cents per lb. gross 

Punta Arenas Coffee in bags 2$ cents " " 

From Liverpool to 

Buenaventura, all goods £ 9 10 per ton. 

Tumaco, Esmeraldas, Manta, and Guayaquil, all) „.„ _ _ tt 

goods ( 

Payta £10 10 " 

I Lambayeque, Paeasmayo, Huanchaco, Santa, Sa-|^., n ft tl 

manco, Casma, Supe, Huacho, and Callao \ 

Cerro Azul, Pisco, Chala, Islay, Arica, Pisagua, ^ 

Mejillones, Iquique, Tocopillo, Cobija, Caldera, L ]9 ~ „ tt 

Carrizal bajo, Huasco, Coquimbo, Tongoy, and f 
l Valparaiso ) 

H2 



178 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



M 



Per Ton, 



Wool, alpaca, press-packed 

" other kinds, press-packed. 

Hides, dried, each 

Nitrate of soda 

Copper in bars or ingots 

Tin bars, and tin and copper ore 

in bags 

Silver ores in bags 

Coffee and cocoa. 

Goat and deer skins, press-packed 
" " loose packed 

Dye-woods 

Whale oil, per tun of 252 gallons 

Whalebone 

Bark 

Sarsaparilla 

Cotton, press-packed 

India-rubber 

Panama hats 

Orchilla 

Tobacco in ceroons 

" " loose bales 

General merchandise and all) 

goods not enumerated ) 



To Liverpool from 



~ a> — o a o 






*jjfe 



- 2 ffi 
S £.3.2,3 g^S 1 






Wt. 



Meas. 
Wt. 



Meas. 
Wt. 



Wt.or 

Meas 



5 H|l 



~4 a 
hi . 



'£H 



£ s. d. 

16 10 
L4 7 8 

3 4^ 
7 60 
5 15 



7 08 

8 40 

8 16 

15 5 

16 10 
6 11 4 

11 1 

10 10 4 

12 17 

12 10 

13 15 

9 60 

17 28 
9 10 

12 16 

14 10 

11 18 



\£ s. d. 


|14 17 


13 78 j 


3 n 


6 14 


6 14 


5 15 


7 12 


8 40 


14 15 


16 


6 14 


10 6 


9 14 4 


12 12 


11 10 


13 


8 14 


15 10 8 


8 10 


11 18 


13 10 


11 80 



£ s. d. 

14 1 

12 14 4 

2 10i 

6 6 

6 6 

5 15 

7 4 
716 

14 5 

15 10 
5 14 8 
9 16 
9 3 8 

12 12 
11 10 

13 

8 6 

14 9 4 
8 10 

11 6 

13 

10 18 



PARCELS. 

Under 1 cubic foot £0 17s. Od. 

Over 1 cubic foot, and under 2 £1 5s. 6d. 

Over 2 " feet, " 3 £1 14s. Od. 

The above rates include every charge on the Isthmus of Panama, and in 
respect of those goods destined for London every charge in Liverpool also. 

Freight to be collected on the weights delivered or measurements taken 
in Liverpool, at the rate of $4 80 to the pound sterling. 

Primage will not be charged on goods conveyed under through Bill of 
Lading. 

Agent in Aspinwall—T. R. Cowan, Esq., H. B. M. Vice-Consul. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 179 



THE PANAMA RAILROAD COMPANY'S LINE OP SAILING VESSELS BETWEEN 
NEW YORK AND ASPINWALL. 

To accommodate shippers and facilitate trade, especially with the Pacific 
coast, the Panama Railroad Company have established a line of sailing ves> 
sels between New York and Aspinwall, composed of the following: 

Bark Xantha Captain Chapman 321 tons. 

" Magdalena " Day 285 " 

" Golden Rule.... _" Whiteberry 254 " 

Brig Arabella " Lindsley 291 " 

" Costa Rica " Peel 260 " 

" E. Drummond.. " Cormay 244 " 

" Caroline " Porter 220 " 

These vessels are all of the first class, sailing at intervals of from a week 
to ten days. The average passage from New York to Aspinwall is twenty 
days, and from Aspinwall to New York twenty-five days. 

The freight from New York to Aspinwall is 15 cents per cubic foot, and 5 
per cent, primage. The freight from Aspinwall to New York is from $0 to 
$8 per ton. 

Whale-oil will be received and forwarded from Panama to New York by 
the road and the Company's Line of Sailing Vessels, at the rate of 8 cents 
per gallon, if received in the harbor alongside from ship's tackles, and at 7 
cents per gallon if received at the pier, in full of all expenses, charging for 
the capacity of the cask, without allowing for wantage. 

Whalebone will be taken from ship at Panama through to New York at 
1£ cents per lb. 

By these vessels the Panama Railroad Company issue through bills of 
lading to the ports of South America touched at by the steam-ships of the 
Pacific Steam Navigation Company, at the following rates : 



180 



HAND-BOOK OF THE 



To Buenaventu- 
ra, Guayaquil, 
Payta, and in- 
termediates. 


To Callao, Valpa- 
raiso, and inter- 
mediates, south 
of Payta. 


$40 00 
5 00 


$50 00 
7 00 


2 75 


3 75 


4 00 


5 00 


2 25 


2 75 


2 50 


3 50 


30 00 


40 00 


40 00 


45 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


35 00 


45 00 


25 00 


32 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


30 00 


40 00 


25 00 


35 00 


3 00 


4 00 


25 00 


35 00 


30 00 


40 00 


35 00 


45 00 



General merchandise, and all goods embraced in first class 

of Panama Railroad tariff, per ton of 40 cubic feet, or 

2240 lbs. gross weight, at the option of the Company 

Beef and pork, per barrel 

" " per half barrel 

Flour, per barrel 

" per half barrel 

Biscuit, per 100 lbs 

Butter, lard, hams, bacon, cheese, salt fish, tallow, and rice, 

per ton of 2000 lbs 

Refined sugar, per ton of 2000 lbs 

Wines and other liquors, in boxes and barrels, per ton of 40 

cubic feet 

Manufactured tobacco, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Cigars, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Unbleached domestics, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Soap, per ton of 2000 lbs 

Candles, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Carriages and furniture, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Agricultural implements, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Pitch, tar, and rosin, per barrel 

Earthen-ware and glass-ware (coarse), in crates and boxes, 

per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Turpentine and oil in cases, per ton of 40 cubic feet 

Turpentine and oil in tins only, per ton of 40 cubic feet 



All weights to be the gross weight. 

Articles not enumerated to be charged at rates assimilating to the above. 



The Pacific Steam Navigation Company will issue through bills of lading 
for produce from the above ports. 

Goods arriving at Aspinwall by the Company's vessels, and consigned to 
parties at Panama, under through bills of lading, will be forwarded to them 
free of charges and commissions by the Company other than such as are ex- 
pressed in the bills of lading. 

Residents and agents at Panama can forward goods through the commer- 
cial agent of the Company at Panama to foreign ports beyond Aspinwall, on 
through bills of lading, by the Company's line of sailing vessels to New York, 
or by any other lines or vessels with which the Company has made the nec- 
essary arrangements. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



181 



Rates of Through Freight from New York, by the Company'' s sailing Vessels 
to Aspinwall, including Lighterage in Panama. 



s^ffl 



i*± 



Dry-goods, hats, boots, shoes, drugs, and other goods, 
included in railroad tariff as first class, per ton of 
40 feet 

Unbleached domestics, per ton of 40 feet 

Furniture, carriages, agricultural implements, wood- 
en-ware, clocks, etc., per ton of 40 feet 

Iron in bars, sheets, and bundles, iron castings, nails, 
spikes, copper, zinc, and lead, per ton of 2000 lbs. 

Steel in bars and bundles, coarse machinery, com- 
mon hardware, earthen-ware, sugar-mills, -moulds, 
and -pans, shot, etc., per ton of 2000 lbs.. 

Butter, cheese, lard, fish, ham, soap, and candles, 
per ton of 2000 lbs 

Refined sugar, per ton of 40 feet 

Flour and rice, per barrel 

" " per half barrel 

Wine in boxes and baskets, per ton of 40 feet 

" in casks, and other liquors, per ton of 40 feet 

Tobacco, manufactured, per ton of 40 feet 

" unmanufactured, per ton of 40 feet 

Ship-bread, crackers, etc., per ton of 40 feet 



$40 00 
32 00 

30 00 

30 00 

34 00 

35 00 
30 00 

4 20 
2 20 
32 00 
35 00 
40 00 
32 00 
28 00 



$42 00 
34 00 

32 00 

32 00 

36 00 

37 00 
32 00 

4 50 
2 35 
34 00 
37 00 
42 00 
34 00 
30 00 



$44 00 
36 00 

34 00 

34 00 

38 00 

39 00 
34 00 

4 80 
2 50 
36 00 
39 00 
44 00 
36 00 
32 00 



Goods can be shipped three times per month, by steamers of the Atlantic 
and Pacific Steam-ship Company, to Aspinwall, at an addition of 35 cents 
per foot, or $14 per ton, to the above rates. 



Hates of Return Freights, by the Company's sailing Vessels from Aspinwall to 
New Yoi'k, including Lighterage in Panama. 



To Aspin- New 

Panama. wall. York. 



Lumber, from La Union, per M 

" Punta Arenas, per M 

Cochineal and indigo, from either port, per lb. net. 
Hides, from San Jose, Acajutla, and La Libertad, 

each 

Hides, from La Union and Realejo, each 

" " Punta Arenas 

Coffee, from Punta Arenas, per lb. gross 

Deer and goat skins, from Punta Arenas, per lb.... 

" " " other ports, " ... 

Cigars, balsam, and first class goods, per railroad 

tariff, per foot 



$20 00 
18 00 
U 

32 

30 

24 

I 

1 

H 

50 



^0 02| 

47 
45 
39 

II 

2i 

1 00 



$0 03i 

62 
60 
54 
li 

21 
3 

1 16 



No primage on through rates. 



182 HAND-BOOK OF THE 

Steamers of the Pacific Mexican Mail Line, under contract and concessions of 
the Supreme Mexican Government, for the conveyance of the Mails between the 
Mexican Ports of the Pacific Coast and San Francisco, Upper California. 

Messrs. Holladay & Flint, owners. Offices — No. 407 Washington Street, 
San Francisco ; No. 88 Wall Street, New York. 

Agents. — Guaymas, John A Robinson. 
La Paz, 

Mazatlan, Melchers Bros. & Co. 

San Bias, A. E. Weber. 
Cape San Lucas, 

Manzanilla, Ohlomeyer & Koch. 

Acapulco, D. B. Van Brunt ; to which agents 

and owners applications may be made for passage and freight. 

Steamers now in Service. 

The Panama, 1087 tons, Captain E. Wakeman. 
" Republic, 852 " " Charles Wilson. 

Dates of Sailing. 

The Panama will sail from San Francisco on the 6th of each month. 

" " " " Mazatlan on the 17th of each month. 

If the days of sailing should fall on a Sunday, it will be changed to Monday. 
The steamer Panama will communicate with the steamer Republic, in the 
port of Mazatlan, on the 15th of each month, in which port they will tranship 
the passengers and goods destined to other ports of the coast, receiving at the 
same time the freight and passengers which the Republic may have brought 
from the ports of Acapulco, Manzanilla, and San Bias. 
The Republic, going up, will leave 

Acapulco the 10th of each month, in the morning. 

Manzanilla " 12th " " " afternoon. 

San Bias " 14th " " " " 

Mazatlan "18th " " " morning. 

La Paz " 20th " " " afternoon. 

The Republic, going down, will leave 

Guaymas the 24th of each month, in the afternoon. 

La Paz " 26th " " " " 

Mazatlan " 29th "• " " 

San Bias " 30th " " 

Manzanilla " 1st " " " " 

Dates of Arrival. 
The Panama will arrive at Mazatlan the 15th of each month ; at San Fran- 
cisco the 26th of each month, touching on each trip at Cape San Lucas. 

The Republic, going up, will arrive at 

Manzanilla the 12th of each month, in the morning. 

San Bias " 14th " " " " 

Manzanilla " 15th " " " 

La Paz " 20th " " " " 

Guaymas " 22d " 

The Republic, going down, will arrive at 

La Paz the 26th of each month, in the morning. 

Mazatlan " 27th " " " " 

San Bias " 30th " " " noon. 

Manzanilla " 1st " " " " 

Acapulco "3d " " " afternoon. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 



183 



By the foregoing tables it will be seen that the passengers and cargo 
brought by the Republic, from the ports of Acapulco, Manzanilla, and San 
Bias, destined for San Francisco, will at once be transhipped to the Panama, 
which steamer will be at Mazatlan. The cargo and passengers brought by 
the Panama from San Francisco and Cape San Lucas, destined to the ports 
of La Paz and Guaymas, may likewise be transhipped ; while the cargo des- 
tined for the lower ports will remain on board the steamer Republic until her 
return from her trip to Guaymas, and the passengers which the Panama may 
have brought from San Francisco, with the same destination to the ports be- 
low, may then continue their voyage. The passengers who embark at the 
ports of Guaymas and La Paz, bound to San Francisco, will have to remain 
in Mazatlan until the Panama arrives, or may continue to Acapulco, and 
embark in one of the steamers of the (American) Pacific Mail Steam-ship 
Company, which touch at said port of Acapulco on their up and down trips, 
the 7th and 8th of each month. 

This arrangement will allow that the specie taken on the coast by the Re- 
public may be transhipped in Acapulco to one of the steamers of the (Amer- 
ican) Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company when said specie is destined for the 
United States or England. The funds destined for San Francisco will be 
transhipped to the Panama in Mazatlan. 



Scale of Passages and Freight. 
From San Francisco to First Cabin. Second Cabin. Frei 

Cape San Lucas $65 

Guaymas 75 

La Paz 70 

Mazatlan 70 

San Bias 75 

Manzanilla 78 

Acapulco 80 

From Cape San Lucas to 

Guaymas 45 

La Paz 30 

Mazatlan 25 

San Bias 35 

Manzanilla 45 

Acapulco 60 

From Guaymas to 

La Paz 35 

Mazatlan 40 

San Bias 50 

Manzanilla 60 

Acapulco 70 

From La Paz to 

Mazatlan 25 

San Bias 35 

Manzanilla 45 

Acapulco 60 

From Mazatlan to 

SanBlas 25 

Manzanilla 40 

Acapulco 50 

From San Bias to 

Manzanilla 25 

Acapulco 40 

From Manzanilla to 

Acapulco 30 16 



$30 


$10 


40 


12 


35 


10 


35 


10 


40 


10 


42 


20 


45 


20 


28 




22 




16 




25 




28 




40 




20 




22 




25 




30 




35 




16 




22 




28 




30 




12 




20 




28 




12 




25 





lit. 



s 

« 6 

'- to 

I 2 ST 



184 HAND-BOOK OF THE 



Note. — These prices of passage and freight will be the same in the up and 
down trips, except those destined to San Francisco, which will pay : 

First Second 

Cabin. Cabin. 

From La Paz $90 $45 



Guaymas 100 50 

Cape San Lucas 80 40 



First Second 
Cabin. Cabin. 

From Acapulco $100 $50 

" Manzanillo 95 45 

" San Bias 90 45 

" Mazatlan 90 45 

Children of from 8 to 12 years old, half passage. 
Children of from 3 to 8 years old, quarter passage. 
No charge will be made for children under 3 years. 
Servants half of first cabin price. 

Freight of Specie. 

From San Bias and Manzanillo to San Francisco, 1\ per cent. ; from the 
remaining ports to San Francisco, 1 per cent. ; and from one to another port 
on the coast of Mexico, 1 per cent. 

The specie to be transhipped by the line, either in San Francisco or Aca- 
pulco, destined for the United States or England, i per cent. 

Facilities for remitting Specie to the United States and to the Bank of Eng land. 

The owners of the Pacific Mexican Mail line of steamers having made the 
necessary arrangements with the (American) Pacific Mail Steam-ship Com- 
pany, and with the packets of the Royal English Mail, parties can ship their 
specie on board the steamers of the Pacific Mexican Mail, and the captain will 
sign Bills of Lading to deliver said specie to the Bank of England, it being for 
account of Pacific Mexican Mail to tranship them, either at Acapulco or at 
San Francisco, on board one of the steamers of the (American) Pacific Mail 
Steam-ship Company, which will carry it to Panama, at which port the agent 
of the packets of the Royal English Mail will receive it and forward it to 
England, via the railroad and steamers, without the necessity, on the part of 
the owner of the specie, to employ any agent in its transit. 

Terms of Freight of Specie delivered to the Bank of England. 

To the steamers of the Pacific Mexican Mail, | per cent, will be paid for 
freight. 

To the steamers of the (American) Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, 1£ 
per cent, for freight, and 5 per cent, primage. 

The payment of the freight will be made on signing the Bills of Lading. 

On arrival at its final destination If per cent, freight will be paid to the 
Royal English Mail Packet Company. 

The responsibility of each carrier ceases on making the respective tran- 
shipment. 

It is useless to enumerate the great advantages offered to the merchants 
of the Pacific coast of Mexico by this combination, by which they may cal- 
culate to certainty the day on which they will have their funds at their dis- 
posal in the Bank of England, which will leave Acapulco the 8th of each 
month, will be shipped at Aspinwall or Colon the 24th, will arrive in En- 
gland the 14th of the following month, occupying, in the whole transit, the 
short period (on an average) of forty-five days. 

General Remarks. 

The Pacific Mexican Mail line will not be responsible to the passengers for 
loss of time for the delays occasioned either for the want of connecting with 
either of the steamers, or for accidents, or loss or damages from the dangers 
of the sea or derangement of machinery, etc. 



PANAMA RAILROAD. 185 

No berth is considered engaged until the passage is paid. 

To the passengers who, having taken their ticket, and from some cause 
are unable to make the voyage, no return whatever will be made. 

No passenger having a contagious disease will be received on board, and 
if any such is found on board he will be landed at the first port at which the 
steamer will touch, and when well the steamer will convey him to his orig- 
inal destination, without farther charge. 

The captains will take special care not to show any preference in the al- 
lotment of berths to the passengers, and, as a general rule, they will be guided 
in the allotment by the date on which the tickets were taken. 

No passenger can have pretension to an entire state-room, unless he has 
paid the corresponding increase of one third price of a passage. 

The passengers who have paid their passage from one port to another of 
the line may remain in the intermediate ports, and continue their voyage 
when they please, within two months, without any additional charge. 

When the steamers are not lying at a wharf, the passengers and their lug- 
gage must get on board at their own expense. 

Every passenger has a right to take his personal luggage free, but in no 
case can it exceed 20 cubic feet for each adult. All luggage exceeding this 
amount will be charged as goods on freight. 

Goods can not be taken as luggage. 

All cargo shipped on board of the steamers must have marked upon each 
parcel the port of its destination, and the owners will have to comply, in all 
respects, both on shipping and on landing, to the Mexican laws in that re- 
spect. 

In case the consignees should not apply on board for their goods with the 
necessary promptitude, the goods will be landed and held by the line until 
such time as the expenses incurred for landing, etc., shall have been paid by 
those interested. 

The captains and officers of the steamers of this line will spare no pains to 
facilitate the operations of commerce, and will have the greatest care of the 
passengers and cargo. 

A mail agent of the Mexican Republic being on board of the steamers, no 
letters will be carried by the steamers but such as refer to the Bills of Lading 
of the cargo. 

All cargo is received and delivered alongside of the steamer, the convey- 
ance to and from the shore being for account of the parties interested. 

The owners of this line have had, and still will have to overcome numer- 
ous difficulties, and to incur great expense to sustain the communication by 
steam, but they are determined to fulfill punctually the contract with the 
Mexican government, and when the necessities of the public require an in- 
crease in the number of packets, the necessary number will be added to those 
now in actual service. 

Line of Steamers hetween California and Oregon. 

Messrs. Holladay & Flint, owners. Offices — No. 107 Washington Street, 
San Francisco ; No. 88 Wall Street, New York. 

The Cortes, 1117 tons, Captain T. Huntington. 

" Sierra Nevada, 1217 " " 

" Columbia, 778 " " F. Conner. 

These steamers make regular trips between the ports of San Francisco and 
Portland (Oregon), and Victoria (V. I.), touching at the intermediate ports. 

Dates of Sailing from San Francisco. 

On the 7th, 17th, and 27th of each month ; and for the intermediate ports, 
the 5th and 20th of each month. 



Officers and Directors of the Panama Railroad. 

DAVID HOADLEY, President. 

JOSEPH F. JOY, Secretary. 

GEORGE M. TOTTEN, Chief Engineer. 

HENRY SMITH, Treasurer. 

WM. PARKER, General Superintendent. 



WILLIAM H. ASPINWALL, HENRY CHAUNCEY, 

EDWIN BARTLETT, WM. FELLOWES, 

GOUVERNEUR KEMBLE, SAMUEL W. COMSTOCK, 

WILLIAM WHITEWRIGHT Jb., AUGUST BELMONT, 

EDWARD CUNARD, JOSEPH W. ALSOP, 

THEODORE W. RILEY, JOHN STEWARD, 
DAVID HOADLEY. 




TOWEB OF SAN JEROME, AT OLD PANAMA. 



BRIEF ACCOUNT 

OF THE 

REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA, 

CONNECTED WITH THE PANAMA RAILROAD BY THE 
STEAMERS OF THE CENTRAL AMERICAN LINE. 



The course of the Panama Eailroad Company's Central 
American steamers, for their upward voyages from Pana- 
ma, is due south across the Bay of Panama to Point Mala, 
its western boundary; from thence, following the coast-line, 
within distinct view of the rugged mountain range which 
bounds it, a northwesterly course is pursued to San Jose de 
Guatemala, the terminus of the route. 

The 1st port of entry is Punta Arenas, in the Republic of Costa Rica, 
distant from Panama 450 miles. 

The 2d port of entry is Realejo, in the Republic of Nicaragua, distant 
from Panama 692 miles. 

The 3d port of entry is La Union, in the Republic of Salvador, distant 
from Panama 762 miles. 

The 4th port of entry is Libertad, in the Republic of Salvador, distant 
from Panama S62 miles. 

The 5th port of entry is Acajutla, in the Republic of Salvador, distant 
from Panama 902 miles. 

The 6th port of entry is San Jose de Guatemala, in the Republic of Guate- 
mala, distant from Panama 966 miles. 



COSTA EICA. 



The Eepublic of Costa Pica, lying between 8° SO' and 
10° 40' K latitude, and 82° and 85° W. longitude, has an 
area of about 23,000 sq. miles. Population about 150,000, 



190 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

composed of whites of Spanish descent, Indians, Negroes, 
and Mestizoes, the latter estimated at about one fifth of the 
whole. Costa Eica is politically divided into five depart- 
ments, viz., San Jose, Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela, and Pun- 
ta Arenas. 

The prevailing religion is Eoman Catholic. There are 
about 50 churches in the republic. Protestants are pro- 
tected from molestation or annoyance on account of their 
religion by treaties with Great Britain and the United 
States. Its educational facilities consist of a University, 
with a government endowment of $46,310, besides one 
fourth of the receipts of the tobacco monopoly ; there are 
also reported about 80 primary schools in the republic. 

The city of San Jose, the capital of the republic, is situ- 
ated in the department of the same name, about midway 
between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, on a table-land 
4500 feet above their level. It is regularly laid out. The 
buildings are generally of one story, on account of the 
frequency of earthquakes. The University is located at 
San Jose ; there are also a government palace, a hospital, 
a mint, a national bank, and several churches. The city is 
connected with Punta Arenas, the sea-port, by a cart-road 
70 miles in length. On this road, five leagues from the 
capital, is the government custom-house, at a place called 
Garita del Eio Grande. 

Punta Arenas, the only available sea-port of the Eepub- 
lic of Costa Eica, is situated on a small peninsula in the 
Gulf of Nieoya. This peninsula is a low sandy point a 
little more than four miles in length by from one fourth to 
a mile in breadth, its highest point about 16 feet above the 
level of the sea. Upon this the town is situated, and con- 
tains about 3000 inhabitants, one tenth of whom are Span- 
ish, the remainder a mixed race of Spanish, Indian, and 
Negro. 

The soil of Costa Eica is exceedingly productive. On 



COSTA KICA. 191 

the "tierras calientes," or torrid lands, which run back 
from the Pacific up to an elevation of 3000 feet, almost all 
the tropical productions abound. Above these are the 
"tierras templadas," which are terraces making out from 
the main Cordilleras (following very nearly the longitudi- 
nal axis of the state in a northwest and southeast direction), 
and are from 3000 to 5000 feet above the level of the sea, 
producing sugar-cane, potatoes, corn, coffee, oranges, etc., 
etc., in great perfection. 

Still above the tierras templadas are the tierras frias, or 
frigid lands, which are from 5000 to 6000 feet above the 
ocean level, among which several volcanoes shoot up, vary- 
ing from 8000 to 11,000 feet in height. The forests, which 
extend over a large portion of the republic, abound in tim- 
ber suitable for ship-building ; also mahogany, Brazil, and 
various other valuable dye-woods. 

The cultivated portion of Costa Eica lies principally with- 
in the valley of the Eio Grande, which flows down the west- 
ern slope of the main mountain range into the Gulf of M- 
coya. " Fully seven eighths of all the inhabitants are here 
concentrated, in a district not exceeding fifty miles in length 
by an average of twenty in breadth." 

CLIMATE. 

11 The topographical features of the country indicate the 
variety of climate to be found in this state. In the district 
around the capital the thermometer generally ranges dur- 
ing the forenoon from 65° to 75° of Fahrenheit ; from noon 
until 3 P.M., during the hottest season, sometimes as high 
as 82° Fahrenheit ; during the night, at the coldest periods, 
never below 57°. Upon both the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts the average mean temperature is, of course, much 
higher, but on the Pacific the thermometer seldom rises 
above 85° Fahrenheit. The seasons are well defined. On 
the Pacific the dry season lasts from November to April, 



192 EEPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

and the rainy from April to November. On the Atlantic 
slope these periods are nearly reversed. Here, too, a much 
larger amount of rain falls, and the climate is hot and insa- 
lubrious."* The Pacific coast has, however, the reputation 
of being much more healthy, and the table-lands and up- 
land valleys are, for a tropical country, said to be especial- 
ly salubrious. 

The mineral wealth of Costa Eica is almost wholly un- 
developed. Mines of gold, copper, iron, lead, and coal have 
been discovered, but no intelligent efforts have as yet been 
made to ascertain their value. 

The commercial products of Costa Eica are coffee, hides, 
dye-woods, sarsaparilla, tortoise-shell, pearl-shells, and ma- 
hogany. The principal of these, however, is coffee, which 
is of very fine quality, and scarcely second to the celebrated 
Mocha. The cultivation of this great staple was introduced 
in 1829. By 1845 about five millions of pounds were ex- 
ported; in 1848, ten millions; and in 1850, fourteen millions. 
Up to the year 1856 the coffee was transported by a tedi- 
ous and expensive voyage around Cape Horn to European 
markets. Since the establishment of the Central American 
Steam-ship Line, in connection with the Panama Eailroad, 
much of the coffee-crop has been exported through this di- 
rect channel, and not a small portion has thereby found its 
way to the United States. Large quantities have been sent 
to Panama for reshipment on the Pacific mail steamers for 
the California market. The impetus given by greatly in- 
creased facilities and increased demands have, notwithstand- 
ing the disturbed political condition of the country, resulted 
in a growing increase in the number and extent of the cof- 
fee estates ; and almost solely by means of its coffee trade, 
from one of the poorest, Costa Eica has become, relatively, 
one of the richest of the Central American states. The 
present export of coffee from Costa Eica yearly is estimated 

* Squier's Central America. 



COSTA RICA. 193 

at over a million of dollars, and, with all its other exports 
combined, about $1,350,000. Its imports, which are chief- 
ly from Great Britain and the United States, present a total 
of about $1,200,000 per annum. A bank of discount, de- 
posit, and loans on real estate was established at the capital 
in 1858, and its notes are the legal currency of the repub- 
lic. The specie currency is mostly made up of Ameri- 
can half eagles, British sovereigns, and French Napoleons : 
the two former have a fixed value of $5 25, the latter a 
conventional one of $4 25. The silver currency of the 
country is the peso = $1, the real = 12-J cents, \ and \ 
reals. 

HARBOR AND COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. 

The harbor at Punta Arenas is separated into two an- 
chorage grounds by the point of land on which the town is 
located. That between the town and the main land affords 
accommodation only to vessels under seven feet draught. 
Those drawing more anchor in the outer harbor, which 
is protected by two small islands lying to the westward. 
Goods from thence are brought by lighters to the landing- 
place in the inner harbor, a distance of about two miles, at 
a cost of about $1 per ton. 

Pent Charges for both National and Foreign Vessels. 

No anchorage or tonnage dues are imposed. 

1. Quarantine fees, 75 cents for each foot of depth. 

2. Clearance duty, $3. 

3. Hospital dues, 50 cents per head. 

No fees are exacted for the landing of passengers or their baggage, and a 
free permit is granted except when the latter exceeds 2 cwt., when all above 
that weight is subject to inspection. 

All foreign merchandise in packages, when landed, is required to be depos- 
ited in the public warehouses for the purpose of registry ; and, after being 
duly entered, may again be withdrawn, the party interested presenting the 
required certificates. The charge made for the above is 1 real (12 £ cents) on 
each gross cwt. 

Merchandise may be deposited on storage for any length of time on pav- 

I 



194 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

ment of § real (6£ cents) per month per cwt. ; subject, however, to existing 
laws. 

Open articles of merchandise, such as iron in bars and unpacked goods, 
are exempt from registry. 

Light-house dues are 6i cents per ton. 

Any vessel, whether foreign or national, may compromise the hospital and 
light-house dues for $25 annually, paid in advance. 

Municipal and bridge tolls (intended for turnpikes), 37i cents for each 
quintal (of 101 pounds). 

A fine of $25 is imposed for violation of any one of the above regulations. 

There is, besides, a heavy penalty for sealing in packages of powder or to- 
bacco in quantities over 2 cwt. 

CUSTOM-HOUSE REGULATIONS OF COSTA RICA (1857). 

FREE LIST. 

1st. All printed books for instruction or entertainment, if not in opposi- 
tion to religion and morals ; all periodicals and papers. 

2d. Foreign music and musical instruments. 

3d. Foreign seeds and plants. 

4th. Gold and silver in coins and dust. 

5th. All kinds of complete machines, and iron wheels with teeth. 

6th. Quicksilver, stone coal, pack-thread, empty sacks or sacking mate- 
rials. 

7th. Instruments of art and science. 

8th. All kinds of carriages, coaches, cars, etc. 

PROHIBITED LIST. 

I?nports. 

1st. Tobacco in leaf or manufactured. 

2d. All spirits of molasses or rum, such as is manufactured in Costa Rica ; 
all books and other things offending public morals ; eatables of spoiled or 
bad quality ; fire-arms and munitions of war, if not ordered by government. 

By a decree bearing date September 21st, 1857, all foreign spirits are 
placed upon the same footing as gunpowder, rum, and tobacco, which are 
contraband except when imported on account of the government. 

The authorities are required to prosecute and punish those who sell liquor 
clandestinely, and without previous permission. 

The government will cause to be procured, on account of the state, all the. 
various kinds of foreign spirits in common use, in order that the same may 
be expended in such public places as shall be instituted for this purpose, and 
the proprietors of hotels and restaurants will purchase at wholesale in those 
places for the supply of their establishments. 



COSTA RICA. 



195 



Exports. 

Tobacco in leaves or stems, unless by especial permit. 

Gold in coin pays at exportation 2 per cent, ad valorem ; in ingots, dust, 
or jewelry, 4 per cent, ad valorem ; silver in coin, 8 per cent, ad valorem.* 

Coffee pays export duty 12fc cents on 101 pounds, duty paid in 3, G, or 9 
months, according to amount. 

All vessels arriving at Punta Arenas having any prohibited articles on 
board are required to deposit them in a government store-house at a cost of 
$2 per month for each cwt. (although they may be destined for other ports), 
or to leave the port within twelve hours. 

Coins and Weights. 
Coins. — 1 peso fuerto, $1 ; 1 real, 12^ cents. 

Weights. — 1 quintal = 4 arrobas = lOl^j lbs. ; 1 arroba = 25 lbs. 7 oz. ; 
1 libra = l- ffioo lb. ; 1 onza = 1 oz. 
Measure. — 1 vara, 33£ inches. 

Tariff on Articles received in Costa Rica from the United States. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 



Bread, ship 

Brandy in bottles 

" " barrels 

Candles, tallow 

" stearine 

Cider 

Copper, manufactures of.... 
Cotton goods, white 

" " colored 

Cheese 

Cloths and cassimeres, fine. 

Fish in oil 

Flour 

Gold and silver coin . 

Glass, window 

Hides and skins 

Indigo 

Pork, salt 

Printing-presses 

Paper, writing 

Rice 

Soap, common 

Silk, raw 

Shoes, calf-skin, for men.... 

" patent-leather 

Sheathing, metal 

Spirits in casks 

Teas 



Xumber, Weight, or Meas- 
ure. 


Rate of Duty. 


1.014 1b. 


$0 03 


of sugar-cane, 


prohibited. 


1.014 gall. 


11 


1.014 lb. 


02 


it 


03 


in bbls. of 101 lbs. 


1 00 


101 lbs. 


(stills) 10 00 


1.014 lb. 


07 


a 


08 


it 


04 


" 


25 


101 lbs. 


2 00 




free. 




a 


101 lbs. 


1 50 




not defined. 


1.014 lb. 


03£ 


101 lbs. 


62£ 




free. 


101 lbs. 


3 00 




not defined. 


1.014 1b. 


02 


" 


20 


it 


25 


a 


25 


a 


06 


see Brandy. 




101 lbs. 


2 00 



* A recent act is reported abolishing the export duties upon gold and silver in coin or 
bullion, and jewels. 



196 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 



Denomination of Merchandise, 

Tobacco, unmanufactured 

" manufactured 

Tin, crude 

Wines in casks 

Wood, manufactured as furniture ... 



Number, Weight, or Meas- 
ure. 


Rate of Dut 


> prohibited. 




101 lbs. 


$2 00 
2 00 
5 00 



Price Current of Commodities exported to the United States. 



Coffee, per cwt., $8 to $10. 
Lumber, cedar and mahogany, per M. 

ft., $45 to $50. 
Sarsaparilla, per cwt., $14. 



Hides, dry, per cwt., $6 50 to 
Turtle-shell, per lb., $4 50 
Old copper, per cwt. $15. 



Freight to Atlantic States, $25 per ton; California, $20; Lumber to 
California, $10 to $12 per ton. Terms : Cash on delivery. 

Hates of Wages. 

Clerks, $500 per annum; engineers, $1000 to $1500; wheelwrights, $5 
per day ; carpenters, $3 50 ; blacksmiths, $2 to $3 per day ; seamen, $25 
per month. 



NICARAGUA. 

The Republic of Nicaragua has the states of Honduras 
and Salvador on the north, and Costa Rica on the south, 
the Pacific Ocean on the west, and the Caribbean Sea on 
the east, and lies between 83° 20' and 87° 30' west longi- 
tude, and 9° 45' and 15° north latitude, embracing an area 
of about 48,000 square miles, and is estimated to contain a 
population of 300,000 souls :* 

Whites 30,000 

Negroes 18,000 

Civilized Indians 96,000 

Mestizoes 156,000 

This republic, like Costa Rica, is divided administrative- 
ly into five departments : 

* The last census, however, taken in 1846, shows only 257,000; but it fell 
short of the true number, as the people feared it a preliminary step to taxa- 
tion or conscription. 



NICARAGUA. 197 

Population. 

The Oriental (census of 184G) 1)5,000 

" Occidental 90,000 

" Meridional 20,000 

" Septentrional of Matagalpa 40,000 

" " Segovia 12,000 

The prevailing religion is Eoman Catholic, although all 
other religious denominations receive the protection of the 
government. 

The educational interests are at a very low ebb. There 
are reported two universities, one of which has a library 
of 15,000 volumes. Their course of instruction is said to 
be extremely defective. The expenses are paid partly by 
old endowments, and partly by a fee of $12 from each pupil. 
Besides the universities there are sixty primary schools, 
with a total of 2800 pupils, and five schools for females in 
the entire republic. 

Its chief city and capital (though not invariably the seat 
of government) is Leon, in the Occidental department, about 
a day's journey from Kealejo, the Pacific sea-port of the re- 
public. It was, under the ancient Spanish rule, one of the 
finest cities of Central America, but has greatly declined, 
though many marks of its former estate remain. It is reg- 
ularly laid out, the houses usually of one story. The pub- 
lic edifices are numerous and imposing: the great Cathe- 
dral of St. Peter covers an entire square, and is said to have 
cost $5,000,000; besides this there are sixteen churches, 
two hospitals, and a University. Population about 35,000. 
The capitals of the different departments are, 

Population. 

Rivas, in the Meridional department (census of 1846) 20,000 

Granada, in the Oriental " 10,000 

Matagalpa, in the Septentrional of Matagalpa 2,000 

Segovia, in the Septentrional of Segovia 8,000 

Massagua 15,000 

Managua 12,000 

Other considerable towns <( Granada 10,000 

Chinandega 11,000 

Realejo 1,200 



198 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Kealejo, the principal sea-port town, is situated at the 
head of an estuary about three miles from the harbor of 
the same name ; the low and swampy coast-lands prevent- 
ed its establishment at a nearer point. It contains about 
1200 inhabitants. The transportation between the harbor 
and the town is by bongoes and canoes. 

TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, AGRICULTURE, AND NATURAL 
PRODUCTIONS. 

The northeastern portion of the republic is mountainous 
in its character, with a climate of the temperate zone. It 
abounds in mines of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead. 
Precious stones, such as the opal and jasper, have been dis- 
covered ; also extensive beds of anthracite coal. None of 
these deposits have yet been effectively worked, on account 
of the ignorance and indolence of the inhabitants. The 
great Sierra Madre range (bristling with high volcanic 
peaks, several of which are active) passes through the west- 
ern portion of the republic; it is broken, however, by a 
broad valley, 300 miles in length by 150 in width, which 
contains the Lakes of Managua and Nicaragua, the latter 
well known as traversed by the old San Juan transit-route 
in former times. This valley is made up of fertile slopes, 
beautiful and productive plains, well adapted to agricul- 
tural and grazing purposes, and contains within its limits 
the chief cities and the greater portion of the inhabitants 
of the republic. It has a tropical climate. The seasons 
are divided into the wet and dry, the wet embracing the 
months from May to November, and the dry the remaining 
part of the year. The temperature is equable, seldom ris- 
ing above 90°, or falling below 74°. 

The soil is admirably adapted to the growth of all the 
great staples of the tropics. Indigo, sugar, cacao, tobacco, 
rice, coffee, cotton, etc., may all be successfully grown, but 
ignorance, indolence, and political disturbance have so 







■■■■I 




SAN SALVADOE. 



201 



dwarfed the agricultural interests of the republic that at 
present few articles are raised in amount beyond the im- 
mediate necessities of the people. The chief exports are 
indigo, sugar, cotton, hides, dye-woods, and bullion ; small 
quantities of sarsaparilla, cacao, ginger, gum acacia, gum 
copal, and caoutchouc are also exported. Crude sulphur is 
obtained in considerable quantities from the vicinity of the 
volcanoes, also nitre and sulphate of iron ; but the entire 
exports of the republic do not exceed one million of dollars 
annually. 

The imports in manufactured goods and liquors amount 
to about half that sum. 

From Great Britain are imported calicoes and other man* 
ufactured cottons, hardware, lead, gunpowder, etc., etc. ; and 
from the United States, soap, candles, hardware, brandy, gun- 
powder, etc. 



SAN SALVADOR. 

The Eepublic of San Salvador has Guatemala on the 
north and west, and Honduras on the east. It is separated 
from Nicaragua on the southeast by the Bay of Conchagua. 
It lies between 13° and 14° 10' north latitude, and 87° and 
90° west longitude, embracing an area of about 9600 square 
miles, and is estimated to contain 294,000 inhabitants — 
Spanish whites, Indians, and mixed races. It is divided 
into eight departments : 



Departments. 

San Miguel 

San Vicente 

La Paz 

Chalaltenango 

Suchitoto 

San Salvador 

Sonsonate 

Santa Ana 



Capitals. 
San Miguel.... 
San Vicente... 
Sacatecoluca... 
Chalaltenango 
Suchitoto 
San Salvador.. 
Sonsonate ) 
Santa Ana > " 



Population. 
80,000 
56,000 
28,000 

75,000 
80,000 
75,000 



12 



202 EEPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

The capital of the republic is San Salvador, situated about 
twenty -two miles from the port of La Libertad, on the Pa- 
cific coast. Formerly it contained about 25,000 inhabit- 
ants, having eight or ten fine church edifices, a flourishing 
University, a female seminary, several hospitals, and the 
buildings of the general government, and was a place of 
considerable trade; but in 1854 it was almost totally de- 
stroyed by. an earthquake, when it was deserted by many 
of its inhabitants, and the seat of government transferred to 
Cqjutepeque, twelve leagues distant. San Salvador is now 
in process of rebuilding, its inhabitants having mostly re- 
turned, and it promises speedily to regain its former condi- 
tion. 

TOPOGRAPHY. 

San Salvador has a coast-line on the Pacific 160 miles in 
length, along which, for the most part, lies a belt of low 
alluvial land, varying in breadth from ten to twenty miles ; 
back of this is a broad plateau, about 2000 feet above the 
ocean level, and along which numerous high volcanic peaks 
arise. Farther beyond is a broad and beautiful valley, from 
twenty to thirty miles in width, and over one hundred in 
length, drained by the Lempa (a large river, navigable for 
vessels of light draught for upward of 100 miles, and emp- 
tying into the Pacific). The northern border of the state 
rises up into a range of mountains, which separates it from 
Honduras. In the eastern and western portions are also 
well-watered valleys of great beauty and considerable ex- 
tent. 

The soil of the mountain slopes, the valleys, and the 
coast alluvions is fertile and productive in the highest de- 
gree, and well adapted to the growth of the tropical sta- 
ples. Cotton is cultivated to some extent along the coast, 
and with good results. The chief productions, however, 
are indigo, sugar, tobacco, balsam, cacao, maize, and fri- 



SAN SALVADOR. 203 

joles. The usual fruits of the tropical and several of the 
temperate zones are abundant. Indigo is the chief article 
of export. Under the Spanish rule this product was ex- 
ported to the amount of over $3,000,000 per annum, but 
since the independence of the state, owing to intestine wars 
and political disturbances, but little more than $1,000,000 
per annum has been produced. A district along the coast, 
between the ports of La Libertad and Acajutla, called 
" Costa del Balsimo," produces an article known commer- 
cially as the "balsam of Peru." It is collected solely by 
the aboriginal Indians who inhabit that district. About 
20,000 pounds (valued at 50 cts. per pound) are obtained 
for annual export. 

The mineral productions of San Salvador are not exten- 
sive. It has, however, in the northeastern part of the state, 
valuable mines of silver and gold. Iron of a very superior 
quality is abundant Vast deposits of coal are also said to 
exist there. 

In general, the inhabitants of Salvador have more intel- 
ligence and industry than those of the previously-described 
states of Central America. Their government is more lib- 
eral, and the rights of person and property are more re- 
spected, and the privileges extended to foreigners are great- 
er than those above mentioned. Under a treaty negotiated 
by Mr. Squier, United States minister to Salvador in 1850, 
all the rights, privileges, and immunities of the citizens of 
Salvador in commerce, navigation, mining, holding and 
transferring property, are extended to the citizens of the 
United States in that republic. 

"The commerce of San Salvador is chiefly carried on 
through means of fairs established by the government in 
the districts best suited for the exhibition of the products 
of the state. The principal fairs are held at Chalaltenango, 
San Yicente, and San Miguel. The two former take place 
on the first of November of each year ; the latter, called 



204 



REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 



'Fair of La Paz,' on the 21st of the same month. It lasts 
about two weeks, and is far the most important of any held 
in the country. It attracts buyers and sellers not only from 
all parts of Central America, but from nearly every part 
of the Pacific coast, as well as from England, Germany, 
France, and the United States. England sends calicoes, 
shirtings, drills, linens, hosiery, cutlery, iron, and steel ; 
France, silks, cambrics, wine, and spirits ; the United States, 
coarse cottons, sperm-oil, and hardware ; Spain, paper, wine, 
oil, and spirits ; Germany, glass, hardware, and toys ; Italy, 
oil, preserves, and liquors ; Chili and Peru, hats, hammocks, 
pellons, etc. About the only product given in exchange 
for them is the staple of the state, indigo. A second fair, 
called 'Ceniza,' takes place in San Miguel about the be- 
ginning of February. To both of these fairs large num- 
bers of cattle are brought from Honduras and Nicaragua. 
In 1857 the number amounted to 17,844, averaging in 
value from $5 to $8 each."* The amount and value of 
the imports and exports of the state may be estimated from 
the following table : 



Years. 
1854 
1855 
1856 

1857 



Imports. 
51,015,925 

698,219 
1,046,720 

860,104 



Exports. 

) 786,711 

765,324 

1,285,485 

1,304,102 



TARIFF REGULATIONS. 

Import Duties of San Salvador on Articles received from the United States. 
Rate of Duty 24 per cent, ad valorem. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 

Bread, ship 

Brandy in bottles 

" in barrels 

Candles, tallow 

" stearine 

Cider in bottles 

Copper, manufactures of. 

Cotton goods, white 

" colored 



Xumber, Weight, or Meas- 
ure. 

101 lbs. 
dozen, 
gallon, 

1.014 lb. 
dozen, 
101 lbs. 
yard, 



Rate of Duty. 

$3 00 
2 50 

1 00 
prohibited. 

30 

2 00 
25 to 37 cts. 

12 
12 



* Squier's Central America. 



SAN SALVADOR. 



205 



Denomination of Merchandise 

Cheese 

Cloths and cassimeres, fine 

Fish in oil 

Flour 

Gold and silver coin 

Glass, window 

Hides and skins 

Indigo 

Pork, salt 

Printing-presses 

Paper, writing 

Rice 

Soap, common 

Silk, raw 

Shoes, calf-skin, for men 

" patent-leather 



Xumber, Weight, or Meas 

ure. 

25 lbs. 7 oz. 

yard, 

101 lbs. 

barrel, 

dozen panes, 
dozen, 

101 lbs. 

ream, 

25 lbs. 7 oz. 

101 lbs. 

dozen, 



Kate of Duty. 

$4 00 

1 00 
4 00 

4 00 
free. 

38 cts. to $1 
$12 to $24. 
not defined. 

5 00 
free. 

2 00 

3 00 
8 00 

not defined. 
$G to $18. 



HARBORS. 

San Salvador has three ports of entry : 

1st. That of La Union, at the southeastern extremity of 
the state, in the Bay of Fonseca. This possesses an excel- 
lent and extensive anchorage-ground, from three to twelve 
fathoms deep, free from shoals, and nearly ten miles in di- 
ameter. It is surrounded on three sides by high lands, and 
its entrance is protected by a number of islands. It is de- 
cidedly the best harbor in Central America. Its waters 
abound in fine fish and excellent oysters. 

2d. La Libertad, 100 miles from La Union, is an open 
roadstead. It is connected with the city of San Salvador 
by a cart-road 26 miles in length. 

3d. Acajutla, 40 miles from La Libertad, is also a road- 
stead. It is protected from all winds except from the 
southwest; but there is frequently a heavy swell prevail- 
ing, which often renders the landing difficult. It is con- 
nected by a good road with Sonsonate (chief city of one of 
the richest districts in the state), 12 miles distant. 



COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS. 

All vessels of the United States, no^ matter whence they 
may have come or how laden,- are to be treated in all the 



206 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

ports of San Salvador, as to all duties of tonnage, light- 
house, or any other charges of whatsoever denomination or 
character, as national vessels. From this equality the coast- 
ing-trade is excepted, which is reserved to the national 
flag; but should any favors of navigation be hereafter 
granted to any other foreign nation, it will immediately 
apply to the United States. 

Imports into San Salvador in vessels of the United States, 
no matter whence imported or of what origin, to be sub- 
ject to the same duties, charges, and fees of every descrip- 
tion as similar imports in vessels of San Salvador ; and if 
these imports consist of articles the growth, produce, or 
manufacture of the United States, to be subject to no high- 
er or other duties than other similar imports the growth, 
produce, or manufacture of any other foreign nation. 

PORT CHARGES. 

All sea-going vessels, without distinction of burden or 
flag, pay $17, in full of tonnage and other port dues. 
There are no pilots. 



GUATEMALA. 



The State of Guatemala, lying between latitude 14° and 
18° north, and longitude 89° and 93° west, is bounded north 
by the Mexican provinces of Tobasco, Chiapas, and Yuca- 
tan, east by the British establishment of Honduras, south 
by the states of Honduras and Salvador, and west by the 
Pacific Ocean, and embraces an area of 43,380 square miles. 
It is estimated to contain about 907,500 inhabitants, made 
up of between 7000 and 8000 whites (principally of Spanish 
descent), 150,000 Ladinos, or mixed bloods, and 750,000 
Indians. 

The Pacific coast-line of Guatemala is about 250 miles in 



GUATEMALA. 207 

length, trending northwest, and is bordered by a strip of al- 
luvial land from twenty to thirty miles in width, broken, 
however, by occasional spurs from the coast-range of mount- 
ains by which it is bounded, and which, spreading out into 
broad table-lands, form the greater portion of the surface 
of the state. These great plateaux in the southern part 
have an elevation of from 2000 to 5000 feet, gradually at- 
taining a still greater height toward the northeastern part, 
where they are more than 8000 feet above the ocean level. 
They are frequently separated by deeply-cut and extensive 
valleys of great fertility. Toward the eastern boundary 
they subside into the low lands bordering the coast of the 
Bay of Honduras. Along the Pacific several volcanic peaks 
arise, the highest of which is more than 14,000 feet above 
the level of the sea. 

There are several lakes in the interior, the largest of 
which, that of Atitlan, in the' department of Solola, is said 
to be thirty miles in length by ten or fifteen in breadth, 
and no less than 1800 feet in depth. 

There are also numerous rivers in the state. These, for 
the most part, flow into the Bay of Honduras or the Gulf 
of Mexico. The rivers emptying into the Pacific are small 
and few. None have much importance in a commercial 
point of view. 

CLIMATE. 

The climate of Guatemala varies greatly with its vary- 
ing elevations, from the tropical heat of the coast-lands and 
lower valleys, through the intermediate spring-like temper- 
ature of the interior plateaux and higher valleys, to the cold 
and sometimes almost wintry climate of the most elevated 
table-lands and mountains. The plateau on which the cap- 
ital is situated is in the interior, about 90 miles from the 
Pacific coast. There the average maximum temperature 
throughout the year is 88.7° Fahrenheit, and the average 



208 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

minimum is 38.9°. The average mean is 65°. The aver- 
age temperature of the coast-lands is probably between 80° 
and 85° Fahr., but data do not exist for exact calculation 
of this. On the highest table-lands and mountains in the 
northeastern part, ice and snow are not uncommon in cer- 
tain seasons of the year. Here the productions of the tem- 
perate zones abound. Wheat of a superior quality is pro- 
duced, and sheep are raised extensively. The wool-crop 
for 1857 was 1,500,000 pounds, but, from the lack of roads, 
the expense of getting these products to market bars their 
being raised for exportation. Cattle-raising is also carried 
on to a considerable extent. On the lower plateaus and 
valleys coffee, cochineal, tobacco, sugar-cane, and indigo 
are luxuriantly grown, also the vegetables and fruits of 
both tropical and temperate zones. On the low coast-lands 
cotton and rice flourish. The chief staple production of the 
state is the cochineal insect. ' The yearly produce of this 
is variable, on account of various contingencies to which it 
is subject. The crop in 1849 was 1,469,100 lbs. ; in 1851, 
1,231,610 lbs. ; in 1852, 567,000 lbs. ; in 1853, 312,700 lbs. ; 
in 1854, 1,757,300 lbs. ; in 1855, 1,204,510 lbs. It is nev- 
ertheless abundantly profitable, as its cultivators aver that 
if one crop is successfully gathered out of three raised, the 
receipts from its sale repay for the entire labor and capital 
expended on the whole. Cacao, silk, dye-woods, balsam, 
various gums, and many other minor articles, are produced 
to some extent. 

The mineral productions of Guatemala are not extensive. 
Deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and iron exist. Some 
have been worked with considerable profit, but the mining 
interest is greatly neglected. 

The seasons are divided into the wet and dry, the former 
commencing at about the middle of May, and continuing 
until the middle or end of October; the dry season then 
sets in, and lasts for the remainder of the year. 



GUATEMALA. 209 

POLITICAL DIVISIONS. 

Guatemala is divided into seven departments, those of 
Guatemala, Solola, and Quezaltenango extending along the 
Pacific coast; Sacatepequez and Totonicapam in the inte- 
rior ; Yera Paz, the largest of all, in the northern part ; and 
Chiquimula in the eastern. The chief towns are : 

In the Department of Guatemala — Guatemala City; Escuintla, popula- 
tion 6000; Amatitlan, population 15,000; and Jalpatagua. 

In the Department of Solola — Solola ; Atitlan ; Masatenango. 

In the Department of Quezaltenango — Quezaltenango, population 25,000; 
San Marcos ; Tejutla ; Tapachula. 

In the Department of Sacatepequez — Old Guatemala (or Antigua), popu- 
lation 20,000; Chimaltenango ; Patsun. 

In the Department of Totonicapam — Totonicapam, population 15,000; 
Momostenango ; Gueguetenango ; Jacaltenango. 

In the Department of Vera Paz — Salama ; Rabinal ; Copan, population 
14,000; Cajabon, population 4000. 

In the Department of Chiquimula — Chiquimula, population 6000 ; Za- 
capa, population 5000 ; Gualan, population 4000 ; Casaguastlan ; Esquipu- 
las, population 1800 ; besides many other large towns. 

Guatemala City, the capital of the state, is 90 miles dis- 
tant from San Jose, the sea-port of the Pacific coast, and 
220 from Izabal, on the Atlantic, and has a population of 
about 40,000. It is beautifully situated on a broad table- 
land 4372 feet above the ocean level. The volcanoes of 
Agua and Fuego, 12,000 and 14,000 feet in height, tower up 
on the northern side 40 miles distant ; the other sides pre- 
sent low mountains and hills in beautiful variety. The 
climate is one of perpetual spring, the thermometer aver- 
aging 65° Fahrenheit, and perfectly salubrious. It is reg- 
ularly laid out in a quadrilateral form, with its sides facing 
the cardinal points ; the streets are forty feet broad, cross- 
ing each other at right angles. The main plaza is 150 
yards square, the east side occupied by the Cathedral, the 
palace of the archbishop, and other buildings of the Church 
authorities; on the west is the government house, offices, 



210 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

etc., of the government officials ; on the north, the cabildo, 
or town-hall, prison, etc. ; and on the south a range of stores 
of various kinds. In the middle of the square is a fountain, 
elaborately and artistically sculptured of gray stone, fur- 
nishing an abundant supply of water ; besides this, in each 
of the seven or eight lesser squares are fountains well sup- 
plied with water, which is brought to the city by two 
aqueducts a distance of five and six miles. The dwellings 
are all of one story. There are twenty-six churches, some 
of large size, with elegantly ornamented interiors ; to sev- 
eral are attached monasteries and convents; a University, 
two colleges, one public and several private elemental 
schools, three hospitals, one alms-house, two theatres (one 
of which, just finished, is a large and elaborate Corinthian 
building, said to have cost $200,000), and a large amphi- 
theatre for bull-fights. 

CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS. 

The Indians are the cultivators of the lands, and are, in 
general, industrious and peaceable; some are owners of 
estates, but the landholders are principally whites. The 
mixed bloods are mostly mechanics and petty traders. As 
a people the Gruatemaltecos are courteous, affable, and hos- 
pitable to strangers. 

The prevailing religion is the Eoman Catholic, and there 
are few countries in the world where the exercises and cer- 
emonials of that Church are more universally and elabo- 
rately practiced. 

THE PORTS OF GUATEMALA. 

The commerce of Guatemala previous to the establish- 
ment of the Panama Eailroad Company's line of steamers 
on the Pacific coast of Central America was almost entire- 
ly carried on through the port of Izabal, on the Atlantic. 
This port is inaccessible except to vessels of very light 



GUATEMALA. # 211 

draught. It is over 200 miles from the capital (surround- 
ing and to the westward of which the great proportion of 
the staples of the country are principally produced), and is 
reached by mule-paths, through a mountainous and unin- 
habited region, with great labor and expense. It is now, 
however, rapidly losing its importance, on account of the 
more accessible port of San Jose, on the Pacific, through 
which much of the commerce of the state is already carried 
on. San Jose lies in latitude 13° 56' north, and longitude 90° 
42 ' west. It is an open roadstead. The coast is very clear, 
running east and west. The anchorage is about three quar- 
ters of a mile from shore, in eleven to fifteen fathoms of 
water. The swell breaks very heavily upon the shore, and 
out as far as forty or fifty fathoms, making it necessary to 
use a girt-line for landing and leaving. The currents are 
very strong, and vary with each change of the moon, the 
variations sometimes taking place within the short period 
of six hours. From November to February the landing is 
easy. In March the ebb and flow of the tide extends from 
90 to 100 yards, and at the flood tide the surf is so heavy 
as to dash up the beach a distance of 100 to 120 yards; 
after March the sea is again calm until July, and from July 
to December it is again rough, and the landing difficult. 
An iron screw-piled pier is now, however, in process of con- 
struction at this place by the government of Guatemala (if 
it is not already finished), which will extend from the shore 
to a point beyond the breakers, thus enabling the transpor- 
tation between ship and shore to be performed at every 
season of the year with facility and safety. 

The town of San Jose has a population of between two 
and three hundred. Supplies for vessels are, however, pro- 
cured with much difficulty here, unless provision be pre- 
viously made to obtain them from Escuintla, a town forty 
miles distant, on the road to the capital. There are no 
means at this port for refitting or repairing vessels at pres- 



212 EEPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

ent. The modes of conveyance from the port of San Jose* 
to the interior are by mules and stages, and the arrange- 
ments are convenient and ample. Diligences for the trans- 
portation of passengers are in waiting on the arrival of the 
Panama Kailroad Company's steamers for conveyance to 
the capital, 90 miles distant, and the intermediate points, 
and the roads throughout the dry season are excellent. In 
the wet season the journey from San Jose to Escuintla is 
performed on mules, owing to the deep mud on the low 
land to that place ; from thence to Guatemala City the dil- 
igence is in operation throughout the year. 

A small trade is carried on through the minor ports of 
Santa Tomas on the Atlantic and San Luis on the Pacific. 

HARBOR REGULATIONS. 

"Every vessel which shall anchor in the ports of this re- 
public, no matter whence it may come, shall pay a tonnage 
duty of two reals (25 cents) for each ton of measurement. 
This measurement shall be ascertained from the register, 
the certificate of nationality, the patent or clearance under 
which it sails." 

" Shall be free of tonnage duty: 1st. Small vessels engaged 
in transporting merchandise from one port to another of 
the republic ; 2d. Vessels which shall anchor in ballast to 
take in water, provisions, or fruits of the country, provided 
they discharge no cargoes ; 3d. Vessels of war, and regular 
mail or steam packets, provided they do not discharge mer- 
chandise over twenty tons; 4th. Merchant vessels which, 
exceeding 150 tons measurement, discharge not exceeding 
twenty tons of merchandise ; 5th. Vessels which receive on 
board for exportation produce of the country, excepting 
cochineal" Cochineal pays an export duty of five reals on 
each ceroon to the Church. 



GUATEMALA. 



213 



TARIFF REGULATIONS OF GUATEMALA. 

PROHIBITED LIST. 

Guns, muskets, and all other arms for military purposes; munitions of 
war, as lead, balls, gunpowder, and rifles ; prints, cuts, pictures, etc., bear- 
ing against public morals and religion; books, manuscripts, etc., especially 
interdicted. 

FREE LIST. 

Anchors, cable, rigging, and all other articles belonging to ships' mate- 
rial not comprehended in the tariff; quicksilver, barometers, fire-engines, 
staves and heading of all kinds ; scientific instruments and agricultural im- 
plements ; books, music, maps, and geographical charts ; machines and 
steam-engines; gold and silver coins; barrels, hogsheads, etc., etc., for ex- 
porting the products of the country. 

Duties on Articles received from the United States. 

Denomination of Merchandise. 

Bread, ship 

Brandy in bottles 

" in barrels 

Candles, tallow 

u stearine 

Cider 

Copper, manufactures of 

Cotton goods, white 

" colored 

Cheese 

Cloths, cassimeres, fine 

Fish in oil 

Flour 

Gold and silver coin 

Glass, window 

Hides and skins 

Indigo 

Pork, salt 

Printing-presses 

Paper, writing 

Rice 

Soap, common 

Silk, raw 

Shoes, calf-skin, for men 

" patent-leather... 

Sheathing, metal 

Spirit in casks 

Teas 



Tobacco, unmanufactured 



Tin, crude 

Wines in casks 

Wood, manufactured as furniture 



Number, Weight, or Measure. 


Rate of Duty. 


arroba of 25 lbs. 7 oz. 


$0 50 


dozen, 


72 


15 to 18 gallons, 


3 44 


1.014 lb. 


03 


(C 


05 


dozen bottles, 


05 


1.014 lb. 


12* 


yard, 


02^ 


It 


03 


101 lbs. 


2 88 


yard, 


78 


1.014 lb. 


04^ 


25 lbs. 7 oz. 


25 




free. 


box of from 137 to 150 lb?. 


3 60 


1.014 lb. 


12 


C( 


2 00 


25 lbs. 7 oz. 


48 




free. 


ream, 


25 


25 lbs. 7 oz. 


24 


cc 


72 


1.014 lb. 


72 


pair, 


04 




57 


1.014 H). 


08 


12 to 15 gallons, 


3 44 


1.014 lb. 


18 


^24 per cent, on the invoice 




\ value, -with an addition of 




V 20 per cent, on the aggre- 




[ gate amount. 




101 lbs. 


5 00 


12 to 15 gallons, 


2 16 


40 per cent, ad val. 





214 



REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 



IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 

The official statement of the imports into Guatemala for 
the year 1860 shows the amount to have been $1,495,191 ; 
exports, $1,870,631. Imports from Great Britain, $802,305 ; 
France, $295,651 ; Germany, $108,649 ; the United States, 
$50,235 ; Spain, $47,702 ; and small amounts from various 
other countries. Of the exports about two thirds were of 
cochineal, the remainder consisting of ores, sugar, coffee, 
sarsaparilla, dye-woods, and hides. The following compar- 
ative statement will show the increase of trade since the 
establishment of the Central American Steam-ship Line in 
1856: 

Value. 
.. $ 92, 575 
.. 13,800 
,. 27,672 
.. 76,582 
.. 52,377 
.. 15,352 

The coffee of Guatemala is of very fine quality, and 
promises soon to become a prominent article of export. 

By a contract between the government of Guatemala 
and the Panama Eailroad Company, a drawback of ten 
per cent, on tariff rates is allowed on all merchandise pass- 
ing over the Panama Eailroad en route for that state. 









Value. 




Ores exported 
Sarsaparilla ei 


in 1855... 




.. $6,600 


in 1860. 


cported in 


1855 


.. 1,890; 




Dye-woods 


cc 


a 


.. 5,000; 




Hides 


it 


tt 


.. 26,000 




Sugar 


a 


a 


none; 




Coffee 


a 


it 


none; 





Eates of wages are much the same as in Costa Eica (p. 
196). Laborers on estates receive from 1J to 2 reals per 
day. 



HONDURAS. 215 



HONDUEAS. 

The Kepublic of Honduras has Nicaragua on the south, 
the Bay of Honduras and the Caribbean Sea on the north 
and east, Guatemala on the north and west, and San Sal- 
vador on the south and west. It lies between latitude 13° 
10' and 16° north, and longitude 83° 11' and 89° 30' west, 
and contains an area of about 42,000 square miles, with an 
estimated population of 350,000. In its mineral resources 
Honduras ranks first among the Central American States ; 
mines of gold, silver, lead, copper, and iron are abundant, 
but the inhabitants, mostly Indian, have done comparatively 
little toward developing their wealth. All the productions 
of the tropics flourish in Honduras, among which mahoga- 
ny, dye-woods, sarsaparilla, and tobacco form the chief ar- 
ticles of export. Besides these, bullion, cattle,* hides, and 
tortoise-shell comprise the chief exports, the total estimated 
at $1,125,000 per annum, most of which formerly passed 
through its Atlantic ports Omoa and Truxillo. Since the 
establishment of the Panama Eailroad line of Central Amer- 
ican steamers, a large proportion of the trade has found 
its way out of the country through the port of La Union, 
State of Salvador, which is at the junction of three states 
on the Pacific. Its only sea-port on the Pacific is Amapala, 
on Tigre Island, a few miles distant from La Union. It is 
not, however, a port of entry for the Panama Eailroad 
steamers. 

The imports of Honduras, which consist chiefly of pro- 
visions, coarse cottons, and miscellaneous merchandise, may 

* About 20,000 head of cattle are annually driven from Honduras to the 
great fair at San Miguel, Salvador. 



216 REPUBLICS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 

be roughly estimated at $1,000,000 per annum, chiefly from 
Great Britain. The great obstacle to the development of 
Honduras is the want of roads, the interior transportation 
being wholly effected by means of mules. 

The business returns of the Panama Eailroad Steam-ship 
Company from Honduras are included in those of Salvador. 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA 

CONNECTED WITH THE PANAMA RAILROAD. 



NEW GHANADA. 

New Granada, the most northerly, as well as the most 
important of the South American republics, is situated 
mostly between the equator and 12° north latitude, and be- 
tween 70° and 83° west longitude, containing an estimated 
area of 480,000 square miles. Its greatest length is about 
800 miles, and its greatest breadth about 600. It is bound- 
ed on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the east by the 
Kepublic of Venezuela, on the southeast by Brazilian Gui- 
ana, on the south by the Eepublic of Ecuador, and on the 
west by the Pacific Ocean. Along the western portion, the 
Andes, divided into three great chains, pass in a northeast 
and southwest direction through the republic. To the east 
of the most eastern chain the country is spread out into 
vast llanos or plains, about 300 feet above the ocean level, 
gradually descending to the Eiver Orinoco, one of its east- 
ern boundaries. These immense plains are said to be un- 
fit for cultivation, but large herds of cattle and horses are 
raised upon them. The wet season on the llanos lasts from 
November till April, and the dry the remainder of the 
year. The average annual temperature is 80° Fahrenheit ; 
the wet season averages about 8° hotter than the dry. This 
section is principally watered by the tributaries of the 

River Orinoco. 

K 



218 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

Upon the sides and summits of the Cordilleras are vast 
table-lands, varying in climate -and productions with their 
elevation, and embracing every grade of temperature, from 
that of the torrid zone to the regions of perpetual snow and 
ice, and, with the exception of the snowy regions, these 
plains are said to be remarkably fertile, producing in great 
abundance and perfection the fruits and agricultural staples 
of every zone. Between the mountain ranges are broad 
and beautiful valleys : that of Magdalena between the east- 
ern and central ranges, and Cauca and Atrato between the 
central and western. These valleys are drained each by 
large navigable rivers of the same names. In the terri- 
tories comprehended between the eastern and western An- 
des there are two wet and two dry seasons, the wet coming 
on at the approach of the equinoxes, and the dry at that 
of the solstices ; each continues about ninety days. 

The northeastern portion of the republic, bordering the 
Atlantic, is low and unhealthy, but of great fertility. At 
the northwestern portion the Cordilleras become depressed, 
and frequently disconnected, forming the low hill and val- 
ley country of the Isthmus, where, like the northeast por- 
tion, the climate is hot, and, in the lower lands, insalubrious, 
but richly productive. The seasons in these portions of 
the republic are divided into the dry and rainy, each occu- 
pying about six months of the year. 

The population of New Granada, which has increased 
greatly during the past few years, is now estimated at 
2,747,500, of whom 1,648,519 are said to be whites, most- 
ly of Spanish descent; 183,166 pure Indian; 97,583 Ne- 
gro ; 366,332 Mulattoes and Samboes ; 451,900 of differ- 
ent races mixed with Indian. 

The Eepublic of New Granada is politically divided into 
eight states, viz. : 



NEW GKANADA. 



219 



Panama 

Cauca 

Cundinamarca , 

Boyaca 

Santander 

Magdalena , 

Bolivar 

Antioquia 



Population. 
168,500 
404,000 
635,000 
465,000 
463,000 
89,900 
222,100 
300,000 



Capitals. 
Panama. 
Popayan. 
Bogota. 
Tunja. 

Bncaramanga. 
Santa Martha. 
Carthagena. 
Medellin. 



Agriculture holds the first place in the industrial inter- 
ests of New Granada. Kice, cotton, coffee, tobacco, cocoa, 
sugar, and the tropical fruits are the principal cultivated 
productions of the low valleys and coast-lands, which also 
produce spontaneously caoutchouc, vanilla, anise, balsams, 
dye and cabinet woods, ivory-nuts, Peruvian bark, etc. 
The elevated valleys and plains yield wheat, maize, and al- 
most all the other products of the temperate zone. The 
cultivation of the soil is, however, very rudely and indif- 
ferently managed, and the reclaimed lands bear a very 
small proportion to the whole. 

The manufacturing interests of the republic are also in a 
very low condition, and consist of little more than coarse 
woolen and cotton cloths, earthen-ware, and cigars for the 
use of the lower classes, and the straw hats known in com- 
merce as Panama hats. 

The mineral productions of the republic are gold, silver, 
and platinum ; it also possesses valuable mines of emeralds 
and of salt ; but the mining interest is sadly neglected, be- 
ing mostly left to the lower classes. Turtle-shell and pearls 
of fine quality are procured in considerable abundance. 
The entire annual exports are estimated as follows : 



Gold $5,000,000 

Platinum, silver ore, and 

emeralds 1,000,000 

Pearls and turtle-shell... 800,000 

Tobacco 3,500,000 

Straw hats 1,400,000 

Peruvian bark 600, 000 

Coffee 600,000 

Hides 500,000 

Dye and building woods 500,000 



200,000 



Cacao $200,000 

Caoutchouc, maize, cot- 
ton, ivory-nuts, anise, 
rice, balsam, etc 

Sugar, flour, preserves, 
rough woolen and cot- 
ton cloths, brandies, 

etc 50,000 

$14,350,000 



220 EEPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMEKICA. 

Education in New Granada is at a low ebb, though, nom- 
inally, liberal provisions for public instruction are made by 
the government. By law a free public school is established 
in every parish throughout the republic ; in all there are 
said to be 800 public schools, and 60 high-schools and col- 
leges, and 47 printing-offices.* 

The capital of the republic is Bogota, in the State of Cun- 
dinamarca, in lat. 4° 36 / 6" north, and long. 74° 10' west, 
which is situated on a broad plateau 8655 feet above the 
level of the sea. It is regularly laid out, the houses mostly 
built of sun-dried bricks, and of two stories, and is amply 
supplied with water. It contains twenty -four churches, 
one fine cathedral, a national college, with a library of 
33,000 volumes in fourteen different languages, mostly an- 
cient, an observatory, eleven high-schools, besides a semi- 
nary, and two public schools in each ward (eight), fourteen 
hospitals, three lazarettos (both the schools and hospitals 
are very indifferent), seven printing-offices, three litho- 
graphic offices, a fine theatre, one manufactory of woolen 
cloths, and one of earthen- ware. It has a good market, sup- 
plied with fruits and vegetables of both the temperate and 
tropical zones. Population 60,000. The city of Bogota 
is distant from the nearest sea-port on the Atlantic (Car- 
thagena) about 700 miles, and from Buenaventura, on the 
Pacific, 800. From Carthagena the route is up the Mag- 
dalena Eiver by steam-boats to Honda, 700 miles distant, 
and from thence 100 miles to Bogota by mules : this is the 
usual route for merchandise and passengers from foreign 
ports to the capital. That from Buenaventura is long, dif- 
ficult, and expensive, much of the distance over the Cordil- 
leras having to be accomplished on mules or the backs of the 
natives. The roads throughout the republic are very bad. 

* The foregoing statistics of population, exports, etc., were made out from 
official data kindly furnished by Sefior Kaphael Pombo, Secretary of New 
Granadian Legation. 



\ 



NEW GRANADA. 221 

The rivers of New Granada are numerous and impor- 
tant. The rivers Kio Negro, Caqueta, and Putumayo con- 
nect the eastern and southeastern portions of the republic 
with the Amazon. The Guaviare, the Meta, and their af- 
fluents, connect the east and southeast with the Orinoco. 
The Orinoco and the Amazon are connected at the bound- 
ary of New Granada with Venezuela by the Kio Casse- 
quiare. Commercially, the most important rivers are the 
Magdalena and its tributary, the Cauca, each over 1000 
miles in length, and crossing almost the whole of the most 
fertile and productive portion of the republic from south 
to north. The Magdalena empties by three mouths into 
the Atlantic, and is navigated by steam-boats for 700 miles 
of its length. It is through this river and the Cauca that 
the principal part of the interior commerce of the country 
is carried on. At its western mouth is the port of Saba- 
nilla. It also communicates with the port of Carthagena 
by a dike or connected chain of lagoons 92 miles in length, 
and navigated by boats and small steamers. 

The Eio Atrato, in the State of Antioquia, is about 300 
miles in length, and is navigable for small vessels for about 
150 miles. It empties into the Gulf of Darien. Besides 
these, emptying into the Atlantic, are the Chagres, in the 
State of Panama, and several other small rivers at present 
of little commercial importance. Emptying into the Pa- 
cific are the rivers Patia and San Juan, draining rich and 
extensive regions in the State of Cauca. 

The principal sea-ports of the republic of New Granada 
are Rio Hacha and Santa Martha in the State of Magda- 
lena, Sabanilla and Carthagena in Bolivar, and Aspinwall 
in the State of Panama, on the Atlantic coast ; and Panama 
in Panama, and Buenaventura and Tumaco in the State of 
Cauca, on the Pacific. 

Rio Hacha is an open roadstead. Vessels have to an- 
chor one and a quarter miles from shore, at which distance 



222 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

large vessels can ride. Cargoes are landed by means of 
bongoes or canoes. This can only be done between 8 
A.M. and 2 P.M., on account of northeast winds, which 
prevail almost all the year. The landing of cargoes is best 
effected during the summer season. 

The aspect of the town is very pleasing, as most of it 
is of recent construction. Its business is principally with 
the interior, through the Indians of La Goajira. Its prin- 
cipal exports are divi divi, dye-woods, hides, skins, and 
mules. Population between 3000 and 4000. 

Santa Martha, 90 miles southwest from Eio Hacha, has 
a good harbor, with the exception of being exposed to the 
northeast winds. Yessels are laden and unladen at the 
wharves. Merchandise is shipped from this port in large 
decked boats up the Magdalena Eiver, from the mouth of 
which it is distant about 40 miles. Besides the staples of 
the country, from this place are exported considerable num- 
bers of horses, mules, and cattle to Jamaica and other West 
India islands. It ranks as one of the first ports of New 
Granada. 

The city of Santa Martha is the capital of the State of 
Magdalena. There is a good hospital, a college, and a 
printing-office here. Population 4340. 

Sabanilla, at the western mouth of the Magdalena Eiver, 
is a roadstead. On account of a bad bar at the mouth of 
the Magdalena, goods have to be transhipped for their 
transportation up the river. The town is low and un- 
healthy. The residences of the principal merchants are at 
Baranquilla, twelve miles interior. 

Carthagena is the finest port and harbor and the chief 
naval arsenal of New Granada, and is connected with the 
Magdalena by the canal before mentioned, navigated by 
steamers of light draught. It is the principal depot for the 
products of the provinces watered by the Magdalena and 
Cauca Eivers, and exports sugar, cotton, coffee, tobacco, 



\ 



NEW GRANADA. 223 

hides, specie, bullion, Peruvian bark, anise, balsams, dye- 
woods, etc., etc. The port is defended by two forts, and 
is the only port of New Granada on the Atlantic which 
has facilities for the repair of vessels. Vessels are laden 
and unladen by means of flat-boats and bongoes. The 
town is well fortified and well laid out, the houses mostly 
of stone. It has a massive citadel, several churches, a col- 
lege, various seminaries, and two hospitals. Population 
10,000. There is a charity hospital at Carthagena, where 
sick American seamen are admitted at a charge of 40 cents 
per diem; accommodations very indifferent. The usual 
charge for storage of dry goods is about one per cent, on 
gross sales; drayage from wharf to store, 28 to 30 cents 
per ton ; boat for landing, cartage to wharf, and storing at 
custom-house, about 11 cents per barrel. From the United 
States to this port are imported flour, codfish, hams, butter, 
cheese, glass-ware, earth en- ware, iron-mongery, pitch, tar, 
rosin, cordage, copper, and a great variety of articles from 
France, Spain, Italy, and Germany. 

The ships of the Koyal Mail Steam Packet Company, 
plying between Southampton, the West Indies, and the 
east coast of South and Central America, stop here month- 
ly with mails, passengers, and freight. See Itinerary of 
said Company, p. 158, et seq. 

Aspinwall, the Atlantic terminus of the Panama Kail- 
road, in the harbor of Navy Bay, is a free port. The 
shelter here for shipping is extensive, and the anchorage 
good. Nothing obstructs the entrance to the harbor for 
vessels of the largest draught. No pilots are required. 
The wharf and storage accommodations are ample. Eef- 
erence to connections of Panama Eailroad, page 145, will 
give the principal maritime movements of this port. Har- 
bor regulations, freight, wharfage, storage, light dues, etc., 
etc., will be found on page 143, et seq. 

Panama is a free port. This port derives its importance 



224 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



from being the Pacific terminus of the Panama Eailroad. 
It is situated in the Bay of Panama, latitude 8° 56 / north, 
longitude 79° 37' west. Its harbor is protected by a group 
of islands of considerable extent, distant about two and a 
half miles from the place of embarkation. The nearest se- 
cure anchorage for vessels of heavy draught is distant from 
shore one and three quarters of a mile, on account of coral 
reefs which extend for that distance out into the bay. The 
average tides at this point have a rise and fall of twelve 
feet,* and transportation between ship and shore is carried 
on at from one half to high tide by means of small steam- 
ers and large iron-decked launches, which discharge at the 
wharves of the Panama Eailroad Company. Storms are 
unknown in the harbor of Panama, and the transportation 
between ship and shore is performed at every season with 
perfect ease and safety. The group of islands before men- 
tioned furnishes the rendezvous for the vessels of the Pacific 
Mail and Panama Eailroad Steam-ship Companies. About 
nine miles to the southeast of the harbor is the beautiful 
and productive island of Toboga, at which place is the ren- 
dezvous of the British Pacific Steam Navigation Company. 
At this place facilities are afforded for the repair of vessels 



* 


Table of the Tides on the 


Pacific at Panama. 


Atlantic 
at Aspinwall. 


May and June. 


Nov. and Dec. 


Aug. and Sept. 


Greatest rise of tide 


Feet. 
17.72 

7.94 
12.08 

0.759 

9.40 

6.55 

6.25 

4.73 

14.08 

9.60 


Feet. 
21.30 

9.70 
14.10 

0.140 

10.12 

9.40 

6.73 

5.26 
17.30 
12.40 


Feet. 
1.60 
0.63 
1.16 


Least " " 


Average " " 


Mean tide of Pacific above mean 
tide of Atlantic 


High spring tide of Pacific above 

high spring tide of Atlantic 

Low spring tide of Pacific below 

low spring tide of Atlantic 

Mean high tide of Pacific above 

mean high tide of Atlantic 

Mean low tide of Pacific below 

mean low tide of Atlantic 




" " neap tides 



HEW GRANADA. 225 

of the heaviest draught by means of a "gridiron," which is 
rented at reasonable rates to vessels of all nations. There 
is also at Toboga a large machine-shop, where repairs for 
the largest varieties of machinery are effected at moderate 
charges. ISTo pilots are required in the harbor of Panama. 
Fresh provisions and water are furnished to shipping in 
abundance, and at moderate rates. 

Labor is cheap and easily procured ; wages from eight to 
ten reals per day. 

The city of Panama is a place of considerable commer- 
cial importance. Several mercantile houses of large capi- 
tal are established here, which collect from the interior and 
the Xorth and South Pacific coasts the various staple pro- 
ductions of South and Central America for exportation 
over the Panama Eailroad to the United States and Eu- 
rope, and receive from thence large quantities of merchan- 
dise for the use of the interior towns and different ports in 
the Pacific. For the maritime commercial movements of 
this port, see connections of Panama Eailroad, page 147. 
Population of the city of Panama, 10,000. 

About sixty miles southeast from the port of Panama is 
the group of islands called i; Islas de lasPerlas,'' or Islands 
of Pearls, where a pearl-fishery is carried on, producing 
about §100,000 worth of a fine quality of pearls per an- 
num. 

Besides Panama, on the Pacific coast of Xew Granada, 
are the ports of Buenaventura and Tumaco, in the State of 
Cauca, from which are exported Peruvian bark, cocoa, to- 
bacco, hides, etc., to Panama, principally by the vessels of 
the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, which touch at 
each bi-monthly. The trade of these ports is chiefly with 
Panama, receiving from thence merchandise from the 
United States and Europe suitable to the demands of the 
country. 

K2 



226 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

PORT REGULATIONS. 

The port regulations of the Kepublic of New Granada 
are such as are deemed necessary, as well in view of the 
general convenience and safety of vessels as to answer 
proper police and harbor discipline. 

There are no quarantine regulations at any of the ports 
of New Granada, and, consequently, no bills of health are 
required. Tonnage dues, port dues, pilotage, and visit fees 
are the same in all the ports of the republic, with the ex- 
ception of the free ports of Aspinwall and Panama. Every 
vessel pays $6 40 for the visit of the captain of the port, 
and $11 pilotage in and out, besides $1 60 for an inter- 
preter. 

Every vessel pays 40 cents per New Granadian ton for 
her capacity for the first 100 tons, and 20 cents for every 
ton over the same. There are no light dues, except at the 
port of Aspinwall, where light fees are charged by the Pan- 
ama Eailroad Company (see p. 145). The river naviga- 
tion of New Granada is free to flags of all nations, with the 
exception of vessels propelled by steam, the monopoly of 
which last is granted to certain individuals under contract 
with the government. 

Tariff of New Granada on Articles received from the United States — 1855. 

Under this tariff weights and measures are, 1 pound = 1.014 pound ; 100 
pounds = 4 arrobas ; 100 pounds = 101^ pounds avoirdupois ; 1 vara = 33^ 
English inches; 1 quintal = 101.44 pounds; 1 kilogramme = 2£ pounds; 1 
miriagramme = 26 lbs. 9 oz. 10 pwt. 

Money.— 1 peso = 8 reals = 100 cents = $1.* 

Number, Weight, or Measure. 

1.0141b. 
1 kilogramme, or 2| lbs. 

u 

24 lbs. 



Denomination of Merchandise 

Beef 

Beer, ale, porter, in bottles.... 

" " " in casks 

Brandy in bottles 

" in casks 

Candles, wax 



Eate of Duty, 
free. 
$0 OOf 
001- 
16 
16 
40 



* The French decimal system of weights, measures, and currency has been recently 
adopted by the New Granadian government. 



.\ 



NEW GRANADA. 



227 



Denomination of Merchandise. 

Candles, spermaceti 

Cheese of all kinds , 

Cider in bottles 

" in casks 

Codfish , 

Copper, manufactures of 

" in bars 

Cotton, raw 

' ' manufactures of 

Flour, wheat 

Glass, window 

Hams and bacon 

Hats, straw 

Household furniture 



Indian corn 

Lard 

Lead in bars and sheets... 

" manufactures of 

Nails, iron 

Oils, whale and other fish. 

Pitch 

Paper, writing 

" printing 

Paints 

Pork 

Rice 

Rosin 

Soap, common 

" perfumed 

Shoes and boots, leather.., 

Sugar, refined 

Tallow 

Tar 

Teas 

Tobacco, unmanufactured 
" cigars, Havana... 

" " others 

Umbrellas, silk 

" cotton 

Wax, raw, white 

" " yellow 

Wood, boards, pine 

" shingles 

Wines, red 

" white 



Number, Weight, or Measure. 

2* lbs. 
(< 

same as beer. 



2| lbs. 

no importation. 
2\ lbs. 

box of from 100 to 125 lbs. 

dozen, 

chairs, dozen, 

1 lounge, 

1 table, 



1 miriagram. 26 lbs. 9 oz 

. 2| lbs. 

26 lbs. 9 oz. 

1.014: lb. 
ti 

ream, 



24 lbs. 



26 lbs. 9 oz. 

24 lbs. 

10 per cent, additional to 

the duty on leather 

1.014 lb. 

101 lbs. 

26 lbs. 9 oz. 

2| lbs. 



each, 
dozen, 
24 lbs. 



24 lbs. 



Kate of Duty. 

$0 20 

02 



free. 
15 
free. 

40 
free. 
2 40 
free. 
00 
6 00 
12 50 
5 00 
free. 
it 

32 
05 
48 
06i 
00^ 
40 
free. 
12 
free. 

a 

00* 
72 
O 50 



02| 
2 00 
08 
20 
20 
80 
80 
60 
2 00 
20 
20 
free. 
a 

06 

10 



Goods imported into the Isthmus of Panama, although a part of the New 
Granadian Republic, are exempt from duty ; but if imported from the Isth- 
mus into New Granada, they are charged the regular duties as if coming 
from foreign countries. 



228 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



FREE LIST. 

Animals for breed; beaver and other skins,- bee-hives and bees; books, 
printed ; carts ; casks ; coal ; gold, silver, and platina, in dust ; implements 
for agriculture and mining; scientific and surgical instruments; medals; 
mills ; paintings and engravings ; paper for printing ; plants ; seeds ; stat- 
ues and busts ; steam-engines ; wool ; effects of embassadors, and equipage 
of travelers. 

PROHIBITED LIST. 

Arms ; obscene books and prints ; coin, defaced or clipped ; rum ; tobac- 
co, raw. 

Coasting trade free to foreign vessels. 

By virtue of the tariff act which came into force in New Granada, June 
25, 1856, an increase of duty from 25 to 100 per cent, was imposed on near- 
ly every article of import, presenting an exception to the tariff modifications 
of almost every other commercial countiy for years past. The percentage 
increase of rates on the principal articles of merchandise, by virtue of this 
act, on the rates previously levied, has been noted as follows, fractions being 
disregarded : 

On the following articles the increase is 25 per cent. : steel, not manufac- 
tured ; needles and fish-hooks of certain descriptions ; indigo ; sugar-candy ; 
phials ; cocoa, manufactured ; cocoanuts ; padlocks of iron or brass ; can- 
dlesticks of glass or crystal ; brushes for the teeth, nails, etc. ; locks ; beer ; 
copper in sheets ; glasses, small, for liquors, cut or not ; knives for shoe- 
makers, etc. ; spurs, cast iron ; chisels ; bottles ; large forge bellows ; car- 
bine hooks ; buckles of metal ; watchmakers' tools ; common lead-pencils ; 
china-ware, small articles ; mirrors of certain sizes ; hammers of all kinds ; 
mills, small, and coffee-mills, etc. ; razors ; brown paper ; Jamaica pepper ; 
pipes of clay, for smoking ; dishes of glass or crystal ; lead in pigs, plates, 
balls, and shot ; metallic pens ; reins for bridles ; castors for tables, etc. ; 
tallow or stearine ; ink in powder, paste, or liquid ; glasses, watch, magni- 
fying, etc. 

On the following articles the increase is 26 per cent. : spirits from cane 
and its compounds, in those provinces in which this article is not a monop- 
oly ; spirits of turpentine ; scented waters of all kinds ; iron wire ; white 
lead in powder or oil ; raw cotton in bulk and in seed ; trunks with mer- 
chandise ; bottles and demijohns ; brooches for clasps, etc. ; shoe-brushes, 
etc. ; copper in bars or cakes ; compasses ; fine penknives ; spoons of tin, 
iron, copper, etc. ; large knives, and knives of ivory, etc., and balance-handle 
knives with forks ; thimbles ; snuffers ; screw-drivers ; fowling-pieces ; mir- 
rors with gilt frames ; tin, pewter, etc., in bars or cakes ; felts for hats ; nails, 
brads, etc. ; liquor cases ; saddle-trees ; toilet soap ; sealing-wax ; files ; 



ECUADOR. 229 

linen manufactures, common ; mustard ; mainsprings for clocks and watches; 
paper, writing, hanging, etc. ; umbrellas of silk of all sizes ; pincers of all 
sorts ; pistols, common ; earthen pitchers, jars, etc. ; salt-cellars of glass or 
crystal; saws, pit and frame; scissors, small, etc. ; turpentine; zinc, manu- 
factures of. 

On the following articles the increase is 27 per cent. : cruet-stands ; nee- 
dles of wire, bone, etc. ; silver, brass, and piano wire ; door-bolts, small ; car- 
peting in pieces ; cotton manufactures ; curry-combs of iron ; plate-holders ; 
pin-cases ; chandeliers of glass or metal ; harness for two beasts ; trunks 
without merchandise ; scales ; bridle-bits ; copper pumps for engines ; silk 
brocade ; wax candles ; bedsteads ; sofas ; sieves of wire, silk, etc. ; clothes- 
brushes, etc. ; cranks of iron ; clothes-presses ; watch-guards ; swords ; small 
looking-glasses ; iron pickaxes ; stirrups ; pianos ; flasks ; decanters ; small 
buckles for braces, etc. ; whips; lawn; lace; fringes, etc., of linen; porce- 
lain ; manufactures of German silver ; saddles ; dial-plates ; razors in cases ; 
organs ; gilt paper-hangings ; cotton umbrellas ; pistols ; powder-flasks ; bot- 
tle-stands ; watches ; manufactures of silk of all kinds ; fine scissors ; gold 
braid ; window-glass. 

On a certain description of needles, packing, sailmakers', etc., the increase 
is 100 per cent. ; on irons for carpenters' planes, etc., and small hand-bel- 
lows, 150; on fine gold wire, 154; and on sperm-oil, manufactured, 1G0 
per cent. 

There is a decrease of duty on buttons of from 40 to 80 per cent. ; on 
chairs, of 68 ; augers, 36 ; common glass bottles, 40 ; gloves of buckskin, 
etc., 54 and 52 ; stirrup-leathers, 37 ; and on a few other unimportant ar- 
ticles. 



ECUADOR 

The Kepublic of Ecuador, joining that of New Granada 
on the south, is situated between latitude 1° 35' north and 
5° 50' south, and has its name from its position under the 
equator. Its eastern boundary is formed by a portion of 
New Granada, Brazil, and Peru ; its southern by Peru, and 
its western by the Pacific Ocean. Estimated area 250,000 
square miles. 

The three ranges of the Andes pass through the extent 
of the western part of the republic from north to south. 
As in New Granada, they abound in high fertile valle 



230 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

and elevated plains of great productiveness and salubrity ; 
they also shoot up into frequent lofty volcanic peaks, many 
of which are in active eruption : 17 of these have an average 
height of over 16,000 feet each, while several others range 
from 17,000 to 21,000 feet, their summits covered with per- 
petual snow. The lower valleys and plains yield all the sta- 
ples and fruits of the tropics, while the higher produce the 
grains and fruits of the temperate zone, and afford the finest 
pasturage for numerous herds of cattle, horses, sheep, lamas, 
guanacos, and vicunas. Here the Peruvian bark, sarsapa- 
rilla, balsam of tolu, vanilla, canella, copaiva, gentian, and 
many other medicinal productions, are indigenous. There 
are also vast tracts of wooded lands, producing the finest 
timber for ship-building and cabinet-work, besides many 
excellent varieties of dye-woods, and numerous fibrous 
plants suitable for the manufacture of hats, cordage, cloth, 
paper, etc. 

The mineral productions of Ecuador are gold, silver, mer- 
cury, iron, tin, lead, copper, antimony, manganese, sulphur, 
and salt. 

Gold is abundant in the sands of almost all the rivers. 
From not being properly or efficiently worked, the produce 
from the mining interest of Ecuador is inconsiderable. 

The navigable rivers of Ecuador are numerous. Flow- 
ing into the Pacific are the Esmeralda, the Eio Guayaquil 
and its tributary the Daule (emptying into a gulf of the same 
name), and the Tumbez, forming a part of the southern 
boundary, all of considerable importance, draining rich and 
productive districts, and affording for a considerable por- 
tion of their extent an easy passage for the productions of 
the Pacific slope to the coast. Flowing westward into the 
valley of the Amazon and uniting with that river are the 
Putumayo, navigable for the greater part of its extent ; the 
Eapo, navigable for steam-boats for 550 miles ; the Tigre 
& . br 230 miles ; and the Santiago, 400 for steam-boats, and 



ECUADOE. 231 

120 more for smaller vessels. The Amazon, which forms 
a large portion of the southern boundary of the republic, is 
navigable for large vessels as far as the Kiver Tigre (about 
midway of the southern boundary), making the navigable 
portion of that river in Ecuador about 350 miles for steam- 
boats, and nearly 300 farther for rafts or balsas. 

The climate of Ecuador varies with tlie situation of differ- 
ent portions ; that along the Pacific coast is decidedly trop- 
ical and insalubrious; but as the slopes of the Andes are 
ascended, the temperature is decreased, until, reaching the 
valleys and plains at a height of nine or ten thousand feet, 
a perpetual spring prevails. The valley of Quito, in which 
the capital is located, is said to possess the most equable and 
delightful climate in the world, having a temperature vary- 
ing from 56° to 62° Fahrenheit. 

The year is divided into two seasons. In the elevated 
lands the winter commences in December and lasts until 
May, and is a season of clear skies, with a delightful temper- 
ature ; the summer begins in June and ends in November : 
during this season high winds prevail. In the low land the 
temperature is hot and moist, and in the winter incessant 
rains prevail. 

The population of Ecuador is estimated at about 800,000, 
composed of 

Whites of European descent 351,672 

Indians, descendants of the " Quiches' ' 2 74, 440 

Indians of the Orient 135,000 

Negroes 7,831 

Mixed races 31,057 

800,000 

The whites are the principal landholders, traders^tc. 
The Quiches are mostly mechanics and agriculturists. \ 

The Indians of the Orient are wild, and warlike, and un- 
civilized. 

The prevailing religion is Eoman Catholic, and the ope 
I fession of no other is tolerated, but foreigners arc nc 



232 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

molested on account of their religious faith. Education is 
at a low ebb. 

The chief city and capital is Quito, and is situated 9453 
feet above the level of the sea, in a valley of the same name, 
150 miles from Guayaquil, the chief sea-port. It is well 
built, and has several handsome squares, in one of which 
are the cathedral, the town hall, and palaces of the arch- 
bishop, etc. There are also in this city many churches and 
convents, a work-house, an orphan asylum, a university, and 
a large hospital. It has manufactories of coarse cotton and 
woolen goods, lace, hosiery, jewelry, etc., and a large trade 
in corn and other agricultural produce, which, with some 
of its manufactured goods, are sent by way of Guayaquil to 
Central America in return for indigo, iron, steel, and to 
Peru in return for brandy, wine, oil, and precious metals, 
etc. There is said to be much wealth among its inhabitants. 
The markets are well supplied. Population 50,000. 

The chief sea-ports and harbors of Ecuador are Guaya- 
quil, Manta, and Esmeralda. 

Guayaquil, the principal port, is situated at the head of a 
bay of the same name, and at the mouth of the Eiver Guay- 
aquil, 50 miles from the sea. The harbor is excellent, and 
affords great facilities for ship-building, excellent timber 
being found within a few rods of the river, where building- 
yards of capacity for the largest ships have been construct- 
ed. The city consists of the old and the new town, and is 
intersected by rive small creeks which are crossed by wood- 
en bridges. The houses are mostly of wood. The principal 
edifices are a cathedral, several churches, two hospitals, and 
twsj *. 'alleges. The city is defended by three forts. It is 
unhealthy, with a mild, humid climate : mean annual tem- 
perature 88° Fahr. Population 22,000. Guayaquil is an 
important entrepot for the trade between Lima and Quito. 

The ports of Manta and Esmeralda are chiefly ports of 
xport for silver ore and the produce of the country sur- 



ECUADOE. 238 

rounding. The towns are of small size and of but little im- 
portance. The regular ships of the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
tion Company touch at Guayaquil on the 13th and 28th of 
each month, and a special steamer plies monthly between 
Guayaquil and Panama, touching at the ports of Manta 
and Guayaquil (see Itinerary, page 154). In 1856 the for- 
eign exports by the ports of Manta and Guayaquil were 
§2,333,141 50, of which $67,562 12 was silver and silver 
ore. The exports across the country to New Granada were 
about §300,000, and to Peru §100,000. The imports for 
the same year were, through the port of Guayaquil, 
§2,374,439 38; through Manta, §112,267 39; from New 
Granada, §40,000 ; and from Peru, 100,000. 

The chief exports consist of silver and silver ore, cacao, 
sombreros (or Panama hats), tobacco, cascarilla, sarsaparilla, 
agave fibre, tamarinds, caoutchouc, canes, coffee, hammocks, 
etc. ; the imports, textiles of cotton, wool, flax, and silk, 
wine, spirits, flour, hardware, paper, furniture, musical in- 
struments, etc., etc. 

Port Regulations at Guayaquil. — There are no quarantine 
regulations. Tonnage dues, 25 cts. ; light money, 6J cts. ; 
hospital, 50 cts. per day. Vessels lie in the stream, and are 
loaded or discharged by means of rafts, §4 to §5 per load. 

The commercial charge for storage is 1 per cent. Mer- 
chandise is carried on by porters, who charge from 10 to 
50 cents, according to bulk. 

Passengers, on landing, are obliged to present themselves 
at the police-office, where their passports are examined. 
Their baggage is examined at the custom-house, and no fees 
are exacted with the exception of those for a new passport 
on leaving the country. 

The currency is the same as in Mexico. 



Coin.—l peso = 100 cents = $1 00. 
Weights. — 1 quintal =4 arrobas of! 
Measures. — 1 vara=33i inches English. 



si 

Weights. — 1 quintal =4 arrobas of 25 lb. 7 oz. 



234 



KEPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMEEICA. 



Tariff on Articles received in Ecuador from the United States — 1856. 

FREE LIST. 

Printed books and music, maps, ships' materials, fresh fruits, vegetables, 
fire-engines, surgical and mathematical instruments, agricultural implements, 
tools of emigrants, useful machines, inventions, etc. 
Denomination of Merchandise. 

Alcohol 

Beef. 

Beer, ale, porter, in bottles . . . 

" " " in casks 

Brandy in bottles 

" in casks 

Cables and cordage 

Candles, wax 

" tallow 

" spermaceti 

Cheese of all kinds 

Cider in bottles 

" in casks 

Codfish 

Copper, manufactures of 

" in bars 

Cotton, raw 

" manufactures of 

Flour, wheat 

Glass, window 

Hams and bacon 

Hats, straw 

Household furniture 

Indian corn 

Lard 

Lead in bars and sheets 

1 ' manufactures of. 

Nails, iron 

Oil, whale and other fish 

Paper, writing 

" printing 

Paints , 

Pitch 

Pork 

Rice 

Rosin 

Shoes, boots, leather 

Soap, common 

" perfumed 

Sugar, refined 

Tallow 



l"boi5* 

TobfjAa unmanufactured . 
JnO cigars, 



Havana. 



[umber, Weight, or Measure. 


Rate of Duty. 


gallon, 


$1 50 


quintal (101 lbs.), 


2 00 


dozen, 


75 


gallon, 


25 


dozen, 


2 00 


gallon, 


50 


101 lbs. 


37£ 


1.014 lb. 


18* 


it 


03 


a 


06£ 


101 lbs. 


2 00 


dozen, 


1 00 


gallon, 


25 


101 lbs. 


3 00 


1.014 lb. 


06i 


101 lbs. 


2 50 


a 


50 


yard, 


(drills) 02* 


barrel, about 200 lbs. 


6 00 


box of 100 feet square, 


1 00 


101 lbs. 


50 


each, for ladies, 


2 00 


1 table, 


4 50 


101 lbs. 


1 00 


It 


4 50 


it 


1 00 


a 


1 50 


it 


1 00 


gallon, 


05 


ream, 


25 


it 


75 


101 lbs. 


2 00 


<< 


30 


it 


2 00 


a 


3 00 


it 


20 


1 pair, 


1 50 


101 lbs. 


1 50 


dozen cakes, 


12| cts. to 25 


101 lbs. 


4 00 


" 


2 00 


n 


25 


1.014 lb. 


181 


101 lbs. 


10 00 


1000, 


5 00 



" * Teas, when imported direct from the place of production in American or equalized ves- 
sels, are free. 



PERU. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 

Umbrellas, silk 

" cotton 

Wax, raw, white 

" yellow 

Wines, red 

" white 

Wood, boards, pine 

" shingles 



Number, Weight, or Measure. 

one, 

dozen, 

101 lbs. 

a 

gallon, 
(< 

1 foot, 
1000, 



Rate of Duty. 

$1 00 

2 00 



The duties are to be paid within 10 days when they 
amount to $100 ; within 30 when from $100 to $500 ; with- 
in 45 from $500 to $2000 ; within 75 from $2000 to $6000 ; 
100 from $6000 to $12,000; over $12,000, 150 days. Be- 
sides the duties small sums are levied as toll tax. 

Export duties : gold, -J per cent, ad valorem ; silver, 1 per 
cent. ; manglewurzel, 50 cents per 100 lbs. ; straw for hats, 
10 per cent, ad valorem. 



PERU. 

The Eepublic of Peru, between latitude 3° 25' and 21° 
48' south, and longitude 68° and 81° 20' west, embraces an 
area of 520,000 square miles, and had, by the census of 
1852, a population of 2,106,492. Peru is bounded on the 
north by Ecuador, on the east by Brazil and Bolivia, on 
the south by Bolivia and the Pacific, and on the west by 
the Pacific Ocean, and has a coast-line on the Pacific of 
1240 miles. 

The double cordillera of the Andes traverses Peru from 
northeast to southwest, separating it into three regions. The 
central has an elevation of about 12,000 feet; the eastern 
forms a part of the great plain of South America ; and the 
western, between the Andes and the Pacific, has a breadth 
of from 60 to 70 miles. The Andes and their branches are 
estimated to occupy about 200,000 square miles of the sur- 
face of Peru. The whole of the coast region is arid and 



236 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



barren ; the upland or central region abounds in fertile val- 
leys and plains. To the east of the mountains the country 
is covered with vast forests, which have as yet been but 
imperfectly explored. Between the coast regions and the 
mountains are numerous valleys and plains of great fertili- 
ty, where tobacco, sugar, maize, cotton, indigo, cocoa, cochi- 
neal, and various tropical fruits are produced, besides the 
copaiva, vanilla, balsams, etc., and valuable cabinet woods, 
which are indigenous. Here rain rarely falls, but fogs and 
dews are frequent. In the central region the grains of Eu- 
rope are successfully cultivated, and the finest pasturage for 
sheep and cattle is abundant. The lama, alpaca, guanaco, 
and vicuna are natives of this region, where they abound 
in great numbers; their wool, especially that of the alpaca, 
is said to be the finest in the world except the Cashmere, 
and forms an important article of export. Here also are 
found the cinchona-trees, from which the Peruvian barks 
of commerce are obtained. 

The mineral wealth of Peru is very great : gold, silver, 
copper, tin, iron, and saltpetre are found in abundance ; the 
region between the mountain ranges is especially rich in 
mineral products. 

A very great source of wealth to Peru is its deposits of 
guano, which occur on the islands of Chincha and Lobos 
along its coast. These were estimated in 1842 to contain 
no less than 46,632,000 tons, valued at $20 per ton; the 
annual consumption was then assumed to be about 300,000 
tons. 

Peru is politically divided into eleven departments and 
two littoral provinces, as follows, from north to south : 



Departments. 

Amazonas 

Libertad 

Ancach 

Junin 

Lima 

Huancavelica 



Population. 

43,074 
266,553 
219,145 
222,949 
259,801 

70,117 



Capitals. 
Chachapoyas. 
Truxillo. 
Huaras. 

Cerro de Pasco. 
Lima. 
Huancavelica. 



PERU. 



237 



Departments. 

Ayacucho 

Cuzco 

Puno 

Arequipa 

Moquega 

Province littoral de Callao. 

" " " Piura.. 

Total 



Population. 

132,921 

349,718 

285,661 

119,336 

61,432 

8,453 

76,332 



Capitals. 
Huamanga. 
Cuzco. 
Puno. 

Arequipa. 
Tacna. 



2,106,492 

The population consists of Spaniards, native Indians, Ne- 
groes, and the mixed races resulting therefrom: whites 
about 400,000 ; Indians, 1,000,000 ; the remainder Negroes 
and mixed bloods. 

Education in Peru is in a very low condition, though 
there are many Lancastrian schools in the republic, where 
the elemental branches are taught. At Lima, the capital, 
there is a University and several colleges, but they are 
poor and thinly attended. " Superior education is confined 
to a very few among the whites, and the ornamental al- 
most universally takes the precedence of useful instruction . 
There are at the capital some good libraries and a medical 
college." 

"The established religion is Eoman Catholic, though 
other denominations are now tolerated. The clergy are 
said to be careless of their duty and lax in their morals." 

Agriculture is in a very primitive state. Manufactures 
are also in a backward condition, principally confined to 
ponchos, or loose cloaks (some of which are of great fine- 
ness and beauty), coarse blankets, mats, hats, cordage, and 
the beautiful filigree silver-work for which the interior of 
Peru is celebrated. 

Lima, the capital of Peru, is situated on a beautiful and 
extensive plain 560 feet above the ocean, and from Callao, 
its sea-port, distant about eight and a half miles. It is 
about two miles in length, about the same in breadth, and 
is surrounded by massive brick walls. The River Pfmac 
flows through the city, and is crossed by a fine stone bridge 
530 feet in length. The streets are regularly laid out, the 



238 EEPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMEEICA. 

houses low, and built of sun-dried bricks. Trie grand plaza 
is about 500 feet square, in the centre of which is a hand- 
some stone fountain, surmounted by a bronze statue ; be- 
sides this there are about thirty other open squares in the 
city. There are two foundling asylums and eleven public 
hospitals, one of which has 600 beds. The city contains 
fifty-seven churches, sixteen nunneries, and twenty-five 
chapels, many of which are rich in decorations of gold and 
jewels. The church of the Dominican convent is 300 
feet in length by 80 in breadth, and has a steeple 180 feet 
in height. The convent of St. Francis covers two whole 
squares, and has magnificent cloisters. Lima has a Uni- 
versity, numerous primary and two high schools, also three 
Latin schools, and four colleges. There are two theatres, 
an amphitheatre for cock-fighting, and another for bull- 
fights capable of accommodating 12,000 spectators. The 
manufactures, which are very limited, consist of gold lace 
and fringes, glass, cotton cloth, cigars, chocolate, and paper. 
Its population is about 100,000, one fourth of whom are 
white, one fourth Negroes, and the remainder Indians and 
mixed races. The climate of Lima is delightfully mild and 
equable, ranging from 60° to 80° Fahrenheit. Eain is ex- 
tremely rare. The communication between Lima and Cal- 
lao, its sea-port, is by a railway eight and a half miles in 
length, built in 1850-51 by English engineers, with mate- 
rials brought from England. There is another railway 
running from Lima to Chorillas, a favorite bathing-place 
on the coast, nine miles distant. The country in the vi- 
cinity of Lima is exceedingly pleasing and fertile, produc- 
ing all the fruits and vegetables of the temperate zone in 
abundance. Earthquakes occasionally occur, but are usu- 
ally so slight that they rarely create alarm. 

The chief sea-ports of Peru are Payta, San Jose, Hu- 
anchaco, Callao, Islay, Arica, and Iquique. These are the 
ports of entry for foreign commerce, and are called " los pu- 



peeu. 239 

erto mayores" or major ports. There are, besides these, open 
to the coasting trade and for the exportation of the prod- 
ucts of the country, the minor ports of Ylo, Chala, Pisco, 
Huacho, Casma, Pacasmayo, and Tumbez, and the small 
harbors of Sechura, Samano, Santo, Supe, Huarmes, Echi- 
nique, Chancay, Ancon, Cerro Azul, Chincha, Cancato, Nas- 
ca, Quilca, Cototea, Morro de Sama, and Pisaque. 

The steam-ships of the Pacific Steam Navigation Com- 
pany touch at all the principal and at most of the minor 
ports of Peru (see Itinerary, p. 152, et seq.). 

The chief staple of export from Peru is guano ; crude 
wools, bar silver, copper, and tin, Peruvian bark, nitrate of 
soda, are exported in considerable quantities. The average 
annual value of exports, in round numbers, is $12,000,000. 
The chief imports are textiles of silk, linen, cotton, wool, 
gold and silver ornaments, fruits, provisions, timber, furni- 
ture, wines, and liquors. The average annual value of im- 
ports, in round numbers, is $9,500,000. Of this the United 
States imports to Peru about $500,000 per annum, and ex- 
ports about $2,000,000. 

The chief trade of Peru is with Great Britain. 

PORTS. 

The principal sea-port of Peru is Callao. The town is 
badly built, and contains about 7000 inhabitants. It is 
connected with Lima, the capital, by a good carriage-road 
and a single-track railway, which last is used almost exclu- 
sively for passengers. Callao possesses good shelter for 
shipping. Vessels lie at anchor in the harbor and discharge 
their cargoes by lighters and launches. There is a circular 
mole into which the launches go to be unloaded by cranes 
and winches upon a railroad track, which takes all goods 
to the custom-house, where they are deposited in the pub- 
lic stores for an indefinite time, under fixed rates of stor- 
age, from three to twelve cents a package per month. 



240 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

The general features of commercial transactions at Cal- 
lao, and at the ports of Peru generally, are set forth in a 
communication of a late date from the consul of the United 
States at that port as follows: "The most valuable arti- 
cles imported into this consulate are assorted merchandise 
from England, France, Italy, and the United States, Chili, 
Spain, and Ecuador, viz., cottons, linens, silks, wines, hard- 
ware, etc. ; from the United States, domestic cottons, furni- 
ture, lumber, provisions, etc. The export trade of Peru 
consists chiefly of guano, which is sent to England, the 
United States, France, and Spain, and in smaller quanti- 
ties to Italy, India, and the West Indies. Crude wools are 
largely exported, but the high duty on them in the United 
States throws nearly all that trade into Europe, mostly to 
England, where wool is duty free. The same remark also 
applies to the barks of Peru and to copper. The bar sil- 
ver all goes to England, because there is no direct steam 
navigation with the United States. Nitrate of soda is large- 
ly exported — at least 600,000 quintals annually, valued at 
$2 per 100 pounds ; much of this goes to the United States. 
Dry and salted hides and straw hats are exported in small 
quantities." 

Pisco, a port for exportation, about 100 miles south of 
Callao. A railway has been projected to connect this port 
with " Yea," a city in the interior, distant about 40 miles ; 
this, when completed, will bring to the sea the products of 
a very rich agricultural district. 

Arica, a major port, through which a large business for 
Bolivia is transacted, and the outlet of a large mining dis- 
trict. A railway was constructed in 1854-5 for an En- 
glish company from Arica to Tacna, a distance of 40 miles, 
by "Walton W. Evans, Esq., an American engineer. Six 
and a half per cent, on $2,000,000 was guaranteed by the 
government of Peru. This road overcomes an elevation 
of 1800 feet in its course. Over it large quantities of goods 



PERU. 241 

are carried to Bolivia. From the interior of Bolivia, coffee, 
tin, and copper barilla are brought over it to Arica for ex- 
portation ; besides this, all of the calisaya bark and alpaca 
wool known to trade finds its way to the sea through the 
same channel. 

Iquique. — From this port immense quantities of nitrate 
of soda (saltpetre) are shipped to the United States and 
England, said in amount to exceed 30,000 tons annually. 
Out of a population of 15,000, more than four fifths are en- 
gaged in this trade. A railroad is projected from this port 
to " Terrapaca," the centre of the saltpetre region, distant 
from the sea-coast about fifty miles : this road, when com- 
pleted, will greatly increase the trade. 

There are no navigable rivers in Peru ; the interior trans- 
portation is effected principally by means of mules. 

There are no pilots (the nature of the ports rendering 
them unnecessary), no quarantine system, no light-houses, 
no hospital fees in Peru. There are no facilities for the re- 
pair of ships in Peru. 

Tonnage dues in the ports of Peru are 25 cents per ton. 
Port charges, exclusive of tonnage, amount to, about $25 
at Callao, and $40 at Payta. 

Passengers are allowed to land at all the ports of Peru 
as soon as the captain of the port has made his visit on 
board. No passports are required on arriving, but they are 
usually required on leaving Peru, and cost $3 at the offices 
of the local authorities. Passengers take their baggage on 
shore with them, or on board of vessels in the port ; the in- 
spector examines the luggage on the wharf. No fees are 
exacted. 

CURRENCY. 

The circulating currency, representing silver, and now 
the only money in common use in Peru, is below the nom- 
inal standard about 52 per cent. The rate of exchange 

L 



242 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

fluctuates from five to fifteen per cent, on the dollar. The 
dollar of Peru in invoices of export to the United States is 
usually valued at from 80 to 85 cents of United States cur- 
rency. The Peruvian dollar of pure silver (not in circula- 
tion) is worth about 87-J cents United States currency. 
Gold coins of Peru are not now in common use. Patriot 
doubloons pass current at $17, and of late are worth three 
per cent, premium, and but few to be obtained. 

TARIFF REGULATIONS. 

The tariff is that of November 25th, 1854, modified by a decree of May 
1st, 1855. 

Money. — 1 peso =100 cents =$1. 

Weights and Measures. — 1 quintal=4 arrobas of 25 lbs. 7 oz. each=100 
libras=101.45 lbs. ; 1 pound = 1.014 lb. English. 

FREE LIST. 

Principal articles: tar; live animals; quicksilver; iron chains and ca- 
bles ; salted pork and beef in barrels ; stone coal ; geographical charts ; 
lumber for house-building ; cooking apparatus for vessels ; scientific collec- 
tions and objects of curiosity ; staves and heading of all kinds ; oakum ; 
fresh fruits; printing-presses; scientific instruments of all kinds; cordage 
and tow ; bricks ; iron bars ; timber for ship-building ; hops ; machines for 
agricultural and mining purposes ; printed music ; sheathing copper in 
sheets ; seeds of all sorts. 

If imported through the ports of Iquique, Arica, or Islay : fresh or salted 
meat ; barley ; beans ; lard ; lentils ; and Indian corn. 

In the port of Iquique, foreign goods in national vessels, if consisting of 
iron nails, steel, wood, tallow, and articles of food (flour excepted), pay only 
one half the ordinary duty. Empty sacks, gunny cloth, yarn for making 
bags, wood and stone coals, are free under all flags. 

PROHIBITED LIST. 

Gunpowder ; all kinds of fire-arms and munitions of war ; books offend- 
ing public morals, and eatables of bad quality. 

All merchandise imported direct from Europe, Asia, or North America, 
through the larger ports of the republic, are permitted to pay 10 per cent, 
of the total amount of duties levied in government bonds. Gold and silver 
in bullion or coin are exempt from export duty. 



PERU. 



248 



Tariff on Articles imported into Peru from the United States. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 

Beef 

Beer, ale, and porter, in bottles 
" " in casks. 

Brandy in bottles 

" in casks 



Cables and cordage 

Candles, tallow 

" spermaceti 

Cheese of all kinds 

Cider in bottles 

" in casks 

Codfish 

Copper, manufactures of 

" in sheets 

Cotton, raw 

" manufactures of ., 

Flour, wheat 

Glass, window 

Hams and bacon 

Hats, straw 

" other kinds 

Household furniture 

Indian corn 

Lard 

Lead in bars and sheets .. 

' ' manufactures of — 

Nails, iron 

Oil, whale and other fish 

Paints, common 

" fine, in pots 

Paper, writing 

" printing 

Pitch 

Pork, salted 

Rice 

Rosin 

Shoes and boots, leather ., 
Soap, perfumed 



Tallow 

Tar 

Teas* 

Tobacco, unmanufactured. 
" cigars, Havana .. 
" " others,.... 

Umbrellas, silk 

" cotton 

Wax, raw, white 

" " vellow 



Number, Weight, or 
Measure. 


Fixed Value on. 


Percentage on 
fixed Value. 


101 lbs. 


$6 50 


$0 03 


dozen, 


specific duty, 


1 50 


gallon, 


" 


25 


dozen, over 30°, 


" 


1 50 


gallon, " 


" 


1 50 


gallon, under 30°, 


a 

free. 


1 00 


1.014 lb. 


specific duty, 
it 


12^ 


« 


12* 


101 lbs. 


" 


4 00 


dozen, 


c < 


1 50 


gallon, 


it 


25 


101 lbs. 


$5 00 


10 


1.014 lb. 


37 

free. 


15 


101 lbs. 


$4 00 


01 


fustian, dozen, 


6 00 


15 


101 lbs. 


specific dutv, 


2 00 




valuation, 


25 


1.014 lb. 


20 cts. 
free. 


03 




valuation, 


30 




cc 


30 


101 lbs. 


$1 50 


20 


c< 


specific duty, 


1 00 


it 


free. 




It 


$7 00 


20 


it 


5 50 


06 


gallon, 


35 


20 


101 lbs. 


7 00 


20 


dozen, 


75 


20 




valuation, 


20 


for music, 


it 

free. 
tt 


10 




specific dutv, 


2 00 


barrel, 


$4 00 


free. 


dozen, 


8 00 


30 


101 lbs. 


25 00 


20 


arroba251bs. 7oz. 


specific dutv, 


30 


101 lbs. 


tt 


1 50 


barrel, 


$4 00 


free. 


1.014 lb. 


specific duty, 


18J 


101 lbs. 


it 


20 00 


1.014 lb. 


a 


62£ 


a 


a 


624r 


dozen, 


$40 00 


20 


it 


10 00 


20 


101 lbs. 


50 00 


20 


a 


30 00 


20 



* Teas of all kinds, when imported direct from the place of production in American or 
pqualized vessels, are free of duty, 



244 



KEPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 
Wines, red 

" white 

Wood, boards, pine 

" shingles 



Number, Weight, or 
Measure. 

dozen bottles, 

a 



Fixed Value on. 
specific duty, 

!< 

free. 



Percentage on 

fixed Value. 

$1 50 

1 50 



BOLIVIA. 

This republic extends from 10° 30' to 25° south latitude, 
and from 57° 50' to 71° 30' west longitude, with an area 
of 473,298 square miles. Its greatest length is estimated 
at about 1000 miles, and its greatest breadth at 800. It has 
about 250 miles of sea-coast. Population, according to latest 
authorities, 1,425,758. Bolivia, in the general characteris- 
tics of its topography, soil, climate, productions, and inhab- 
itants, does not differ materially from Peru, already de- 
scribed. Its facilities for internal navigation on the east 
of the Cordilleras are very great through the Eiver Mar- 
more and its affluents, whose waters flow into the Amazon, 
and the Pilcomayo, whose waters empty into the Paraguay, 
thereby affording communication with the Atlantic Ocean. 
The very liberal inducement offered to foreigners by the 
government of Bolivia for navigating these rivers and set- 
tling her rich and extensive eastern plains promise, at no 
distant day, to aid in developing her vast resources. By a 
decree promulgated by President Belzu in January, 1853, 
navigation through the above-named rivers was declared 
free and their ports free to all nations ; a bounty of $10,000 
to be awarded to the first steamer reaching any of her river 
ports from the Atlantic, and from one to twelve leagues 
square of Bolivian territory to the individuals or companies 
who, sailing from the Atlantic, shall arrive at any of the 
river ports and desire to found near them agricultural or 
industrial establishments. The commerce of Bolivia is car- 
ried on through its only available sea-port, Cobija, and 



BOLIVIA. 245 

through the port of Arica in Peru. All of the alpaca wool 
and calisaya bark known to commerce is produced in Bo- 
livia, and finds its way to the market across the narrow 
strip of Peruvian territory which separates Bolivia from the 
Pacific at Arica. Deposits of guano exist along the coast, 
and form a considerable article of export. The mineral pro- 
ductions of Bolivia are similar to those of Peru. Its silver 
mines are world-famed, though from inefficient working 
their produce has of late years greatly declined ; at pres- 
ent the export of silver and gold amounts only to about 
§1,400,000 per annum. The entire exports are estimated 
at 8^,000,000 per annum. The imports by Cobija amount 
to about $500,000 per annum, and the internal traffic with 
Peru and Chili to about $1,500,000. Manufactures are car- 
ried on on a small scale : woolen and cotton cloths, hats made 
from the vicuna wool, tin-ware, and fire-arms, are the chief. 

Agriculture is in low condition. Cocoa, cotton, rice, in- 
digo, coffee, sugar, ginger, and tobacco, all of excellent qual- 
ity, are cultivated. 

Cobija, or "Puerto del Mar" the only legal sea-port of Bo- 
livia, is a small town with a population of 2000. The har- 
bor is bad, and the transportation of merchandise from this 
place to the interior, performed by means of mules, is diffi- 
cult and expensive, from which cause most of the trade of 
Bolivia is carried on through the Peruvian port Arica. The 
steam-ships of the British Pacific Steam Navigation Com- 
pany touch at Cobija four times a month on their upward 
and downward voyages (see Itinerary, page 152). 

PORC CHARGES. 
There are no pilots or wharves, but it is necessary to pay 
mole and tonnage dues — rates not ascertained. Passengers, 
before entering Bolivia, are required to have passports. 
. Money, weights, and measures, the same as in Peru. 



246 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



TARIFF ON IMPORTS INTRODUCED INTO BOLIVIA 



By icay o/Arica. Ad val. 

Clothing, and men's boots and 

shoes 30pr.ct. 

Perfumery, clocks, playing- 
cards, cigars, women's shoes, 
caps, and bonnets, iron and 
brass bedsteads, sofas, mir- 
rors, lamps, candlesticks, 
and all other articles not 
enumerated in this class.... 20 pr.ct. 

Woolens, silks, and linens 15 " 

All cotton goods except tucu- 
yas or cotton shirtings 12 " 

Tucuyas 40 " 

Earthen-ware, glass-ware, and 
writing-paper 8 " 

Silver and gold plate, jewelry, 
and watches 16 " 

Books 12 " 

Quicksilver, musical instruments (ex- 
cept guitars), agricultural imple- 
ments, and for the arts and trades, 
free. 

Liquors and wines pay duty to Peru, as 
if intended for consumption there 



By way of Cobija. Ad val. 
Clothing, and men's boots and 

shoes, saddles, hats, tucuyas. 20 pr. ct. 
All kinds of wines, liquors, etc. 18 " 
Perfumery, clocks, playing- 
cards, cigars, women's shoes, 
caps, and bonnets, iron and 
brass bedsteads, sofas, mir- 
rors, lamps, candlesticks, 
chandeliers, gold and silver 
lace, all kinds of haberdash- 
ery, and all other articles 
not enumerated in this class. 10 pr. ct. 
Cotton goods, except tucuyas. 5 " 
Earthen-ware, glass-ware, writ- 
ing-paper, silver or gold 
plate, jewelry, and watches.. 3 " 
Quicksilver, iron not manufactured 
or wrought for manufactures, mu- 
sical instruments (except guitars), 
implements of agriculture, the arts, 
and trades, carriages and printing- 
presses, types, etc., printed books 
(except the 2 per cent, on the libra- 
ry), free. 



Specific Duties on Imports both by Arica and Cobija. 



Description of Goods. (Quantities 



Alforgas (saddle- 
bags) 

Sugar 

Boots 

Bootees for men.... 
" " women. 

Trunks 

Nails 

Locks and keys 

Cigars 

Wax 

Sperm candles 

Bridles or bits 

Matches 

Saddle-frames 



pair, 
arroba, 
dozen, 



pair, 
pound, 
dozen, 

1000, 
arroba, 
dozen, 

a 

gross, 
each. 



$2 50 
50 



00 
00 
50 
00 

m 

50 
00 

00 
00 
50 
00 
00 



Description of Goods 



Galloons 

Caps of fur 

of silk o 

straw 

Caps for children. 

Horseshoes 

Toys of all kinds.. 

Picklocks 

Trunks of hide.... 

Gunpowder 

Saddles 

Hats 

Hat-bodies 

Shoes for women.. 
" men 

fr— 



Quantities 



ounce, 
each, 



dozen, 
box, 

dozen, 
pair, 

pound, 
each. 



dozen, 



Rates. 



$0 50 
1 00 

1 50 

50 

4 00 

15 00 

1 50 

2 00 
50 

6 00 
2 50 

2 00 
1 50 

3 00 



There is no transit duty through Peru. The custom- 
house charges amount to about two per cent. The higher 
duties by Arica are for the purpose of encouraging com- 
merce through the port of Cobija. All the foregoing du- 
ties took effect in November, 1849. On the 26th of June, 



CHILI. ^47 

L854, live per cent, ad valorem was added to the rates by 
Cobija. All the ad valorem duties are on the value of 
goods at Pacific ports. Duties on all goods by Cobija are 
adjusted and paid there, for which bonds are received, pa}- 
able one half in 30 and the other in 120 days. Payment 
may be made two thirds in the small coin and the other 
third in government scrip, issued for a contingent reserve 
from salaries, worth from 25 to 50 per cent. The duties on 
all goods by Arica for La Paz are adjusted and paid at La 
Paz, and those for all other points at Oruro. 



CHILI. 

This republic extends along the Pacific coast from lati- 
tude 24° to 56° south, varying in breadth from 80 to 130 
miles. The Pacific Ocean forms its western and southern 
boundaries, Bolivia its northern, and the Andes its eastern, 
embracing (according to Lieut. Gilliss, U. S. N.) an area of 
146,300 square miles. Population, by the census of 1857, 
1,468,448, besides the tribes of independent Indians, esti- 
mated at 25,000 or 30,000. 

Chili is divided into thirteen provinces and three colo- 
nies, named in the order of their situation from north to 
south, as follows : 

Nuble Pop. 110,219 



Atacama Pop. 55,567 

Coquimbo " 119,991 Conception. 

Aconcagua " 121,654 Araucania 

Santiago " 203,113 iValdivia 

Valparaiso " 124,600 Chiloe 

Colchagua " 206,919 Juan Fernandez Colony. 

Talca " 84,461 Llanquihue " 

Maule " 168,807 1 Magellanic " 



122,281 

48,995 

31,983 

65,743 

136 

3,826 

153 

1,468,448 



The great Andean chain (which attains its maximum el- 
evation in Chili) occupies quite two thirds of the surface of 
the republic. The two most northern provinces, Atacama 



248 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

and Coquimbo, are occupied by mountain ranges rich in 
mineral deposits, but mostly barren in their agricultural 
productions, and do not supply the necessities of one half 
of their limited population. But the remaining eleven 
provinces of the republic possess much fertile and culti- 
vated land; besides raising enough for their own wants 
and supplying the northern deficiency, they export agricul- 
tural produce to the amount of over $2,250,000 annually. 
Santiago, Valparaiso, Colchagua, Nuble, Concepcion, and 
Chiloe comprise the chief agricultural districts. The prin- 
cipal grains raised are wheat, barley, oats, and maize ; ex- 
cellent potatoes are also produced. In the provinces of 
Aconcagua, Santiago, and Valparaiso fruits of both the tem- 
perate and tropical climates are abundant. Nuble, Concep- 
cion, Valdivia, and Chiloe produce large quantities of valu- 
able timber. In Aconcagua, Santiago, Colchagua, Maule, 
Nuble, Concepcion, and Araucania cattle-raising is exten- 
sively carried on. 

Almost the whole extent of the Eepublic of Chili is rich 
in mineral productions, but the chief mining districts are 
in the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo. The exports 
of gold, silver, and copper are estimated at over $15,000,000 
per annum. 

Coal of fair quality is abundant and extensively mined 
in the province of Concepcion. These mines were opened 
in 1840, at a heavy expense, by the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
tion Company, and now produce over 300,000 tons an- 
nually. 

The entire exports of the republic for the year 1857, 
which may be considered as the annual average, were as 
follows : 



CHILI. 249 



Bars of gold and gold coin... $497,736 

Silver and silver ore 4,725,655 

Copper and copper ore 10,760,589 

Wheat 1,050,718 

Flour 798,112 

Biscuit, bread, and frango- 

lio 108,223 

Barley 257,970 

Beans 24,904 

Potatoes 35,506 

Wine and chicha 1,612 

Nuts, dried and fresh fruits 89,052 



Butter and cheese $36,055 

Tallow and lard 2,729 

Hides, horns, and hoofs.... 501,104 
Goat, sheep, and chinchil- 
la skins 40,861 

Wool 397,643 

Assorted provisions 27,189 

Dried fodder 41,790 

Cords, rope, and rigging . . 18,464 

Flanks and lumber 265,287 

Coal 176,765 

Guano 5,600 



Salt beef. 10,880 Miscellaneous 143,009 

Jerked beef 104,173| Making a total of... .$20, 12 1,626 

The climate is equable and healthy. The interior is hot- 
ter than the coast. In the former, at the northern portion 
of the republic, the thermometer often rises to 90° and 95° 
in the shade during the summer months of January and 
February; on the latter, at the same season, it is seldom 
higher than 85°. North of the parallel of 27° it seldom or 
never rains, but heavy dews are frequent. In the central 
portion of the republic, during June, July, and August (the 
winter months of the southern hemisphere), occasional rains 
occur, and the thermometer falls as low as 49° Fahrenheit ; 
and in December, January, and February it rises to about 
90°. During these months no rain falls, but the night 
breezes from the sea render the temperature refreshing. 
The mean annual temperature at Santiago is 70°. From 
thence southward the mean temperature declines, and the 
humidity of the atmosphere increases, until, at the extreme 
southern portions, rains are frequent and severe at almost 
every season. Earthquakes are common. 

The inhabitants of Chili are mostly descendants of the 

Spaniards, the aboriginal tribes, and admixtures of these. 

It is estimated that not more than one fourth are of pure 

Spanish blood. There is a small proportion of Negroes and 

Mulattoes. The foreign population was estimated in 1854 

at 19,699, viz. : 11,324 natives of the Argentine Eepublic, 

1934 English, 1929 Germans, 1650 French, 680 Americans, 

915 Spaniards, 399 Italians, 168 Portuguese, 599 Peruvians, 

and 71 Chinese. 

L2 



250 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA, 

Agriculture and mining are the chief employments of 
the Chilenos. Manufactures of cotton, wool, glass, silk 
laces, fringes, gold and silver embroidery (wrought by 
hand), utensils and ornaments of gold and silver, copper 
utensils, leather, etc., are carried on to some extent, but do 
not form an important item in the resources of the country. 

The Chilenos are more enterprising than the inhabitants 
of most of the South American states, and the haciendados, 
or planters, and merchants often accumulate large amounts 
of property. With the exception of those destined for the 
learned professions, they have generally but little educa- 
tion. Their educational system is, however, more efficient 
than any of the other South American states. There are 
in the republic 562 schools for males and 295 for females. 
The books are furnished by the government. There are 
two normal schools in a flourishing condition ; a govern- 
ment university and theological seminary, a school of ag- 
riculture, a naval school under the direction of the minis- 
ter of marine, and a military school under the care of the 
minister of war : these last are all at Santiago, the capital, 
where is also a government library of 22,000 volumes, 
founded by the Jesuits. 

The established religion is Eoman Catholic. While the 
public services of other denominations are not permitted, 
their private exercise is not interfered with. 

The city of Santiago, situated 100 miles in the interior, 
southeast from Valparaiso, is the capital of the republic 
and seat of government. It occupies nearly seven square 
miles. It is regularly laid out into squares of 420 feet 
each way. Most of the houses are of one story, and built 
of sun-dried brick, plastered and whitewashed. Santiago 
possesses quite a number of fine public edifices, among 
which the Mint is the most extensive and imposing. Its 
architecture is of the Doric style, and covers about 400 
square feet. It was built by the Spanish government at 



CHILI. 251 

the close of the last century, and cost nearly a million of 
dollars. It has numerous churches, several extensive hos- 
pitals and alms-houses, and several institutes of learning, 
which have been already referred to. Connected by rail- 
way with the chief sea-port, Valparaiso, it is the chief mart 
for the interior commerce of the republic. Population 
about 90,000. An astronomical observatory was establish- 
ed at the city of Santiago by Lieut. Gilliss, U. S. N"., under 
orders from the United States government, in 1851. 

The ports of chief importance in Chili from north to 
south are as follows, viz. : 

Caldera. — Here is a fine bay of nearly square form, about 
a mile across, with neither internal nor external dangers, 
and deep water. At the southeast quarter is a long pier, 
which serves for loading and discharging vessels. The ex- 
ports are silver and copper. The Copiapo Railway, which 
was commenced in 1850 and completed in 1852, under the 
direction of Mr. "William Wheelwright, connects Caldera 
with the city of Copiapo, fifty miles in the interior, since 
which time it has been run with great success, developing 
the wonderful mineral wealth of that region, and paying 
16 per cent, dividends on its capital, which is equal to 20 
per cent, on its cost. It overcomes 1300 feet elevation. Its 
chief business is bringing copper and silver ore to the coast, 
and carrying to the interior coal for smelting purposes, also 
provisions and building materials. In 1854 this railroad 
was extended to a point 24 miles in the interior, and 2195 
feet above the sea. This extension, as well as the original 
line, was built and is still owned by a Chileno Company. 
In 1858 Walton W. Evans, Esq., of New York, constructed 
for an English company a branch line to this railway, 26 
miles in length, terminating at Chanarcilla, one of the rich- 
est silver mining districts known. The summit is more 
than 1300 feet higher than any other summit in the world 
over which a locomotive has climbed, its elevation above 



252 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

the sea being 4467 English feet. Another branch, to the 
Copiapo Kailway is contemplated and has been surveyed; 
it is to connect Copiapo with the rich silver mining district 
of Tres-Puntas, in the desert of Atacama, and, if built, will 
give great activity to rich copper and gold mines in that 
region. It will be 54 miles in length, and terminate at a 
point 6400 feet above the level of the ocean. 

Huasco is a port of entry, though scarcely more than an 
open roadstead. It exports copper and copper ore, and im- 
ports supplies for the mining population of this portion of 
the province of Atacama. 

Coquimbo. — The business of this port is the same as Hu- 
asco. There is good shelter for vessels. A railway is in 
course of construction from the port to Serena, 8 or 9 miles 
in length ; it is intended to extend this to a rich copper dis- 
trict, and terminate it at 30 or 40 miles from Coquimbo. 
I^arge quantities of rich copper ores are found in this region. 

Tongoy, a small port for coasting trade, 30 miles south of 
Coquimbo. A railway has been surveyed from this port 
to the rich copper mines of Tamaya, and thence to Ovalle, 
a town in the interior, about 40 miles from the sea-coast. 
If built, this road will assist in developing one of the richest 
copper districts in the world. Senor Don Jose V. de Ur- 
menita, of Chili, has a mine in this region which yields a net 
revenue of over $500,000 annually. The copper vein in 
this mine is about 15 feet thick, and yields ores from 30 to 
70 percentum of pure metal. 

Valparaiso. — This is the greatest port and city of the 
whole South Pacific coast. It is situated in latitude 33° 2 ' . 
The port is a semicircular bay about two miles in breadth, 
and open to the westward. Shelter is secure except in the 
winter months. 

The great depth of water near the shore has thus far pre- 
vented the establishment of wharves for loading and dis- 
charging cargoes, and these operations are safely accom- 



chili. 253 

plished by means of launches, to and from which all pack- 
ages are carried through, the surf on men's shoulders. The 
harbor is well defended by several forts. 

The city stands upon a steep declivity and in the ravines 
along its bay to the northward. It is mostly constructed 
of adobe or sun-dried bricks. It is well paved, but has few 
remarkable edifices. There is an English church, where the 
Episcopal service is performed every Sabbath ; also a free 
Protestant chapel has been permitted. The hotels are nu- 
merous, but indifferent. There are two clubs, conducted 
after the English fashion. There is also one large theatre. 
The city is lighted with gas, and is supplied with good wa- 
ter from basins built on the eminences back of the town, 
and conveyed throughout the city in iron pipes ; both these 
improvements are due to Mr. William Wheelwright, an 
American gentleman, whose name is identified with almost 
every important internal improvement which has been es- 
tablished in Chili for the last twenty years. Valparaiso 
monopolizes most of the foreign trade of Chili. Its direct 
imports in 1850 were $11,110,844, against the entire imports 
of the republic for that year, amounting to $11,500,968, or 
over ffths of its entire importing trade. There is a mag- 
netic telegraph line connecting Valparaiso with Santiago, 
the capital and seat of government of the republic, 100 miles 
in the interior. There is also a railway in process of con- 
struction from Valparaiso to Santiago. Forty miles of this 
road (with the exception of one tunnel) has been completed 
and opened for travel ; the remainder has progressed but 
slowly of late, on account of the difficulties attending its 
construction and the disturbed political state of the country. 
It is now in the hands of the government, and they pro- 
pose to complete the whole line in three years, but this is 
very doubtful. The population of Valparaiso is about 
-45,000. 

Constitution, at the mouth of the River Maule, is the out- 



254 REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 

let of a rich and productive agricultural district. Popula- 
tion of the city between 4000 and 5000. 

Tome, a small port, with a business similar to Constitucion. 

Talcahuano possesses a fine harbor, and is the entrepot 
for the trade of a large and fertile surrounding district. 
The town is well built and flourishing. Population 5000. 
Extensive coal deposits exist in the vicinity of Talcahuano. 
It is proposed to connect Talcahuano with Conception, a 
city of considerable importance about 12 miles in the in- 
terior. Its business will be in passengers and general mer- 
chandise. 

Coronet and Lota. — At these ports extensive deposits of 
coal exist, and form a large item of export. At Lota is a 
coaling depot for the steam-ships of the Pacific Steam Nav- 
igation Company. 

Valdivia is a secure harbor, formed by the estuary at the 
mouth of the river of the same name. The export trade 
here is in the agricultural products of the rich surrounding 
country. Lumber is largely exported. The city of Val- 
divia is 8 miles from the mouth of the river, which is nav- 
igable for large vessels to this point, and navigable for boats 
for 12 leagues farther. A colony of Germans have settled 
in this vicinity. 

Ancud and Albuco, ports of the island and province of 
Chiloe, and Puerto Montt — these three are all small ports 
of export for lumber and provisions. 

The ships of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company 
touch at all the above-mentioned ports (see Itinerary, page 
154, et seq.). 

The imports of Chili consist chiefly of distilled spirits, 
ale and porter, alpaca goods, baizes, bedsteads, books, but- 
tons, cabinet-ware, calicoes, candles, canvas, carpets, car- 
riages, cassimeres, cigars, clothing, cotton and woolen goods, 
crape shawls, drugs, earthen and glass ware, gloves, gold in 
bars and coin, gunpowder, horned cattle and horses, house- 



CHILL 



255 



hold furniture, indigo, iron and iron goods, jewelry and cut- 
lery, leather, linen goods, machinery, matches, mate, merino 
cloths, muslins, molasses, oils, paints, paper, perfumery, pi- 
anos, quicksilver, raisins, rice, rigging, salt, satin goods, 
shoes and boots, silks, silver coin and bars, soap, steel, straw 
goods, sugar, tea, tobacco, umbrellas and parasols, velvets, 
watches, wax, wines, and wool shawls. Among the coun- 
tries furnishing these goods, England holds commercially 
the first rank, France the second, United States the third. 
Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Central America. 
Peru, and Bolivia also export to Chili certain of their man- 
ufactures and productions. Previous to the establishment 
of the Panama Railway the European trade with Peru was 
all carried on around Cape Horn, but since the completion 
of that road in 1855 large amounts of the most valuable 
goods have been sent by the direct route to the port of 
Aspinwall, and across the Isthmus by the Panama Railway, 
and from thence, by the steamers of the Pacific Steam Nav- 
igation Company, to the ports of Peru. The transportation 
by this route to South America for European goods, as well 
as American, is steadily and rapidly increasing. 



Tariff of Chili on Articles received from the United States. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 



Beef. 

Beer, ale, porter, in bottles 

" " in casks.. 
Brandy in bottles 

" in casks 

Cables and cordage 

Candles, wax 

" tallow 

" spermaceti 

Cheese of all kinds 

Cider in bottles 

" in casks 

Codfish... 

Copper, manufactures of.. 

" in bars 

Cotton, raw 

" manufactures of... 



Number, Weight, or Measure. 

quintal (101 lbs.) 
dozen, specific duty, 
gallon, " 

dozen, " 

gallon, " 

1.014 1b. 
101 lbs. 
1.0141b. 



same as 



beer. 



101 lbs. 

1.014 lb. 

101 lbs. 

101 lbs., picked, 

lib. 



Flour, wheat ! quintal, if price is under ! 



1 Eate of 


Duty. 


$7 00 


1 00 


25 


3 00 


1 00 ! 


valuation. 1 


$0 50 i 


16 00 


40 


18J 


6 00 


40 


13 00 


8 00 


37i 



Percentage, 

Duty on 

fixed Value. 

free. 



$0 25 
25 
25 
25 
25 



25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 



256 



REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA. 



Denomination of Merchandise. 



Glass, window 

Hams and bacon 

Hats, straw 

Household furniture 
Indian corn 



Lard 

Lead in bars and sheets.. 

' ' manufactu res of. 

Nails, iron 

Faints 

Faper, writing 

" printing 

Pitch 

Fork ' 

Rice | 

Rosin , 

Shoes, boots, and leather. ! 

Soap, common ' 

" perfumed ' 

Sugar, refined 

Tallow ! 

Tar 

Teas ! 

Tobacco, unmanufactured] 

" cigars \ 

Umbrellas, silk j 

" cotton j 

Wax, raw, white | 

" yellow ; 

Wines, red ! 

" white ! 

Wood, boards, pine ; 



Number, Weight, or Measure. 

100 superficial feet, 
1.014 lb. 



fanega, if price is under $3, 
" " over $3, 

1.014 lb. 

101 lbs. 
1.014 lb. 
101 lbs. 



101 lbs. 
tt 

Carolina, 101 lbs. 

101 lbs. 

dozen, for men, calf-skin, 

101 lbs. 

1.014 lb. 

arroba of 25 lbs. 7 oz. 

101 lbs. (raw) 

a 

pound, specific duty, 

monopoly. 

per pound, 

each, 

dozen, 

101 lbs. 
a 

gallon, specific duty, 
a a 

1000 feet, 



Rate of 


Duty. 


$3 00 


14 


valuation, 


a 


$0 12£ 


6 00 


J8 to 12|c. 


$6 00 


valuation, 


$2 00 


8 00 


5 50 


2 00 


18 00 


6 00 


40 


2 00 


7 00 


2 00 


25 


75 


2 50 


6 50 


50 


50 


25 


37i 


| 35 00 



Duty on 


fixed Value. 


$0 25 


25 


25 


25 


25 


free. 


25 


free. 


25 


25 


25 


free. 


25 


free. 


15 


25 


25 


25 


06 


free. 


25 


25 


25 


25 



free. 



PORT CHARGES. 
The port charges of Chili are as follows : Tonnage dues, 
25 cents per ton ; light dues (where light-houses exist), 3-J- 
cents per ton ; captain of the port's fees, $4 ; harbor-mas- 
ter's fees, $8. National or foreign vessels of war, national 
or foreign steamers, whale-ships, vessels in distress or in 
ballast, or discharging under twenty packages, are exempt 
from tonnage and light dues. "When tonnage dues have 
been paid at one port, they are not levied in another. 



MEXICO. 



The chief and almost the sole communication between 
the Pacific coast of this country and the Panama Eailroad 
is by the vessels of the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company 
and the steamers of Flint and Holliday's Oregon and Cali- 
fornia Line.* Occasional British men-of-war, however, 
bring shipments of silver from the Mexican Pacific coast 
to Panama for transportation over the railroad for English 
ports. 

Acapidco, the first Mexican port of entry of the Pacific 
Mail Steam-ship Company's steamers on their upward voy- 
age, is situated in latitude 16° 55' north, 1440 miles from 
Panama. Its harbor is one of the finest on the whole Pa- 
cific coast. The Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company have 
established an agency there, and a depot for coals, from 
which their vessels are supplied on their upward and 
downward voyages; they also take in occasional supplies 
of fresh provisions at that port. 

Although the State of Guerrero, in which the port of 
Acapulco is situated, is rich in mineral resources, possess- 
ing extensive deposits of silver, gold, and copper, and a 
soil and climate capable of raising the tropical staples in 
abundance, its commerce has for many years been very 
small. Its exports of silver for the year 1860, by the Pa- 
cific Mail Steam-ship Company's steamers, amounted to a 
little more than $200,000, chiefly the returns from foreign 

* The offices of this Company are at No. 88 Wall Street, New York, and 
407 Washington Street, San Francisco. 



258 Mexico. 

goods for Acapulco and the interior. In 1856 the legal re- 
turns of specie exported from the port of Acapulco amount- 
ed only to $32,485. Eecently, however, the government 
roads from Acapulco to the city of Mexico have been re- 
opened, and regular weekly communication established 
with the city of Mexico, which has given a fresh impetus 
to trade at this port. Population of Acapulco about 4000. 

About 325 miles to the northeast from Acapulco is the 
port of Manzanilla, situated in the State of Colima, and is 
the port of export and import for a wide extent of rich 
mining country in the interior. The city of Colima, the 
capital of the state, 28 leagues in the interior, is a flourish- 
ing city, containing about 32,000 inhabitants. The ex- 
portation of silver from Manzanilla previous to the year 
1860, according to the custom-house records of that port, 
amounted to about §500,000 per annum ; but recently, on 
account of the difficulty and danger attending transporta- 
tion of goods and treasure to the Gulf ports, via the capi- 
tal, from the adjoining states Jalisco and Michoacan, a large 
portion of their trade has been carried on through the port 
of Manzanilla, and the exports of silver have increased to 
over four millions of dollars for the year 1860, with a pros- 
pect of much greater increase for the present year, 1861. 
Silver, the chief export of the Pacific ports of Mexico, is 
the only export at Manzanilla ; this is shipped on the vessels 
of the Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company, which touch there 
on their downward voyages, for Panama. From Panama 
it goes to Aspinwall by the Panama Eailroad, and from 
thence to England by the British West India Mail Line. 

The remaining Pacific ports of Mexico — San Bias, in 
the State of Jalisco, 228 miles northeast from Manzanilla; 
Mazatlan, in the State of Sinaloa, 140 miles northeast from 
San Bias; Guaymas, in the State of Sonora, 400 miles 
northeast of Mazatlan ; and Cape St. Lucas, 220 miles 
southwest from Guaymas, and 1066 miles from San Fran- 



Mexico. 259 

cisco, are touched at by the steamers of the San Francisco 
and Oregon Line, and will connect with the Pacific Mail 
Company's steamers at Manzanilla. Correct commercial 
data of these ports are not at present attainable. The 
British government keeps constantly on the coast of Mex- 
ico a ship of war, which receives from mercantile houses at 
the various ports above mentioned (brought from the min- 
ing districts of the interior) silver in coin and bars, vary- 
ing in amount from three to six millions of dollars per an- 
num, which, is taken to the port of Panama for transporta- 
tion over the Panama Eailroad to Aspinwall, and from 
thence to England by the ships of the British West India 
Mail Line. All this treasure is consigned to the Bank of 
England. So soon as the recently organized line from San 
Francisco to these Mexican ports shall liave become thor- 
oughly established, it is expected that a large portion, if 
not the entire amount, of this treasure will find its way to 
the port of Manzanilla for reshipment to Panama by the 
Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company's steamers. 

The merchandise for the Pacific Mexican ports has, until 
very recently, reached them chiefly from England via Cape 
Horn ; but large amounts of goods have, during the past 
year, been received at the port of Aspinwall by the Pana- 
ma Eailroad's line of sailing vessels from ISTew York, and 
by Holt's propeller line from England, and transported 
over the road for shipment by the Pacific Mail Steam-ship 
Company's steamers, and this trade is rapidly increasing. 

Through bills of lading are now issued at the office of 
the Panama Eailroad Company in ISTew York for goods 
from thence to the Mexican ports of Acapulco and Man- 
zanilla at rates varying from $50 to $60 per ton of forty 
feet. 

The Pacific Mail Steam-ship Company's steamers now 
stop at the port of Manzanilla monthly, on their upward 
and downward voyages, leaving iSTew York and San Fran- 



260 MEXICO. 

cisco on the 11th, and arriving at Manzanilla about the 
28th of each month. 

PASSENGER REGULATIONS AT THE MEXICAN PORTS. 

" Every passenger arriving at the ports of the republic 
shall be free to land without passport or letter of security, 
and shall be at liberty to take ashore a small bundle of 
wearing apparel. 

" Every passenger can enter free of duty ten pounds of 
cigars or cigarettes, one bottle of snuff, two bottles of wine 
or liqueur, two watches, with their chains and seals, one 
pair of pistols, one sword, one rifle, musket, or carbine, and 
a pair of musical instruments, except pianos or organs. 

" Passengers are prohibited the introduction with their 
luggage of goods by the piece, jewelry, gold or silver 
wrought, unless of personal wear, or of any other commer- 
cial commodity specified in this ordinance ; but should 
they, through ignorance or as presents, bring in small 
quantities of any of these articles, by making, before the 
commencement of the examination, a declaration on oath 
of the fact, the officer of the customs shall appraise the ar- 
ticles, and collect corresponding duties. 

" The dispatch of private apparel and jewelry is at the 
discrimination of the custom-house officers, with due re- 
gard for the character and personality of travelers. 

" Operatic or comic artists shall be permitted, besides the 
exemptions already conceded to passengers, to introduce 
free of duty their scenic costumes and ornaments, provided 
the same make a part of their luggage and be not excess- 
ive. Should the officers consider the amount in excess, 
they shall collect 30 per cent, ad valorem, or by appraise- 
ment, to be practiced in the manner prescribed for goods 
entered under appraisement. The supreme government 
will ordain what is convenient as regards the privileges 
and exemptions to be extended to emigrants or colonists." 



MEXICO. 



261 



Currency of Mexico. 
1 onza gold =$16 00 



Weights 



1 peso silver .. 

1 real " . 

1 medio real. " 
1 quartillo.... copper 
1 tlaco " 



1 00 
12J 

06i 
03J 
0h 9 c 



1 onza.... 
1 marco.. 

1 libra.... 
1 arroba . 
1 quintal 
1 carga .. 
1 fanega. 



= 1 


ounce. 


= i lb. 


= 1 


lb. 


= 25 


lbs. 


= 100 


lbs. 


=300 


lbs. 


= 2 


bushel 



Measures. 

1 foot =0.928 feet English. 

1 vara =2.784 " 

1 legua=5000 varas =2.G36 miles. 



CALIFORNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, 
WASHINGTON TERRITORY, ETC. 



The port of San Francisco, California, the great commer- 
cial entrepot of the United States possessions on the Pa- 
cific, is situated in the Bay of San Francisco, in latitude 
37° 47' 35" north, and 122° 26' 15" west longitude. Its 
harbor is one of the best of the Pacific Ocean. Through 
the port of San Francisco nearly all the foreign trade of 
California, Oregon, Washington Territory, and the British 
possessions is carried on. 

The city of San Francisco, situated on the eastern slope 
of the ridge which divides the Bay of San Francisco from 
the Pacific Ocean, is handsomely laid out and well built, 
containing many fine public edifices and private dwellings 
of brick and stone, and is the centre of the wealth and 
commerce of the Northern Pacific coast. Population 
80,000. 

The great mineral resources of the State of California, 
the fertility and productiveness of its soil, its varied and 
delightful climate, are so familiar to the world that it is not 
thought worth while to give in this place more than such 
a brief summary of its commercial transactions as will en- 
able the reader to form an estimate of their influence "upon 
the great channels of steam communication between the 
Pacific coast and the United States, the resources of which 
it is the particular object of this volume to set forth. 



264 



EXPORTS.* 

The great staple product of California is gold ; but the re- 
cent discoveries of vast deposits of silver on the eastern 
slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Washoe it is 
thought will, in time, make the exports of this metal rival 
the gold in commercial importance. 

Quicksilver is also largely exported. 

Next in importance among the exportable commodities 
of the state are hides, wool, and grain. The entire product 
of hides and wool go to the New York market. The 
grain, consisting of wheat, barley, and oats, have for the 
last five years found a market in New York, the west 
coast of South America, the East Indies, China, Australia, 
and the Pacific Islands. 

Wool is a large and growing article of export. The ex- 
ports of this article in 1856 amounted to 600,000 pounds; 
in 1860 the amount was 2,981,000 pounds. 

The exports of gold from the port of San Francisco since 
its discovery in 1848, according to Custom-house manifests, 
were as follows : 



Year. 


Shipments to all 
Quarters. 


Shipments to 
New York. 


Rec'ts at U. S. Mint Estimated Yield 61" 
and its Branches California Mines. 


1848 
1849 
1850 
1851 
1852 
1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 


$ 4,921,250 
27,676,346 
45,582,695 
46,586,134 
57,331,024 
51,328,653 
43,080,211 
48,887,543 
48,592,743 
47,548,025 
47,640,463 
42,325,916 






$ 60,000 
8,000,000 
33,000,000 
55,000,000 
57,000,000 
69,000,000 
64,000,000 
65,000,000 
70,000,000 
70,000,000 ; 
70,000,000 i 
70,000,000 ! 
70,000,000 1 




$ 5,232,249 
28,206,226 
57,138,980 
51,470,675 
62,838,395 
46,719,083 
47,419,945 
56,379,901 
55,217,843 
51,494,311 
52,000,000 
27,037,919 








$47,916,448 
46,289,649 
38,730,564 
39,765,294 
35,287,778 
35,578,236 
39,831,937 
35,661,500 



* The commercial statistics of California are taken, by permission, from 
advance sheets of the Annual Report of the New York Chamber of Com- 
merce for 1861. 



CALIFOKNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, ETC. 



265 



Statement of Amounts and Destination of Treasure exported from San Francisco 
during the Year 1860. 



To New York. 

In January $3,360,296 25 

"February 3,126,183 77 

"March./. 2,177,395 67 

"April 2,692,728 88 

" May 2,905,028 40 

"June 3,709,755 01 

" July 1,969,435 05 

"August 2,502,070 47 

" September 3,157,303 59 

"October 2,958,784 19 

"November 2,982,704 78 

"December 4,119,814 31 



$35,661,500 37 



Exported to 

New York $35,661,500 37 

New Orleans 57,795 93 

England 2,672,936 20 

China 3,374,680 27 



Japan. 

Manilla 

Panama 

Sandwich Islands . 

Mexico 

Costa Rica 

Vancouver Island. 



94,200 00 

75,659 94 

300,819 00 

40,679 57 

19,400 00 

3,145 00 

25,100 00 

Total $42,325,916 28 



Exports of Silver. — The exports of silver ore during the 
year 1860, according to the San Francisco Custom-house 
records, were of the value of $416,613. This is, however, 
no guide as to what the ores yielded. In addition to the 
ores exported, several hundred tons were smelted at two 
establishments in San Francisco, yielding about $150,000. 
When it is considered that the Washoe mining district was 
a howling wilderness at the commencement of 1860, and 
that every necessary of life, even the material for habita- 
tions, had to be transported across the Sierra Nevada on 
the backs of mules, it must be conceded that vast progress 
has been made in opening the mines, and, without doubt, 
their product this year (1861) will ascend to millions. 

Exports of Quicksilver. 



Years. 


To New York. 


To other Countries. 


Years. 


To New York. 


To other Countries. 


Flasks. 


Flasks. 


Flasks. 


Flasks. 


1853 
1854 
1855 
1856 


1,500 


18,800 
20,963 
27,165 
22,240 


1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 


8,374 

3,559 

250 

400 


18,888 

20,573 

3,149 

8,948 






14,083 


140,726 









From the above it appears that the total amount of 
quicksilver exported from the state during the past eight 
vears was 154,809 flasks ; there was consumed within the 

M 



266 



CALIFORNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, ETC. 



state, during the same period, 16,000 flasks, making a total 
production (almost entirely from the New Almaden mine) 
of 170,809 flasks of 75 pounds each. The price ranged 
from 1853 to 1860 from 75 to 50 cents per pound. 

Table of Exports of leading Articles of California Produce to New York for 
the last five Years. 



Articles. 


1S56. 


1S5T. 


1S58. 


1S59. 


1S60. 


Barley, 84-lb. sacks 

Hides, number 


132,032 

2,414 

1,506 

9,313 

256 

3 

600,000 


97,675 

170,447 

8,374 

798 

26,363 

212 

826 

1,100,000 


51,103 

142,399 

3,559 

876 

3,812 

906 

194 

1,428,351 


97,947 

151,364 

250 

975 


16,510 

200,116 

400 

939 

2,874 

1,112 

518 

2,981,000 

203,528 


Quicksilver, flasks 

Skins, bales 


" number 




250 

888 

2,378,250 

12,054 




Wool, lbs 


Wheat, 100-lb. sacks .... 











Exhibit of the Exports of a few leading Articles of California Produce to all 
Countries in 1860. 



Barley, 84-lb. sacks 136,916 

Beans, 50-lb. " 1,397 

Flour, barrels 121,688 

Hides, number 200,116 

Hay, bales 9,637 

Lumber, M. feet 3,976 



Oats, 55-lb. bags 76,590 

Potatoes, 110-lb. bags 34,161 

Skins, packages 580 

Tallow, packages 2,181 

Wheat, 100-lb. sacks 1,135,098 

Wool, lbs 3,060,000 



The value of the exports of California, other than treas- 
ure, during the last five years, has been as follows : 



1856 $4,270,260 

1857 4,369,758 

1838 4,770,163 



1859 $5,533,411 

1860 8,532,489 



IMPORTS. 

The following statement of the tonnage arriving at San 
Francisco from Atlantic ports, from 1856 to 1861, will 
show the extent of the imports from that quarter for a se- 
ries of years. The statement exhibits, 1st, the number of 
vessels ; 2d, the aggregate registered tonnage ; 8d, esti- 
mated tons of cargo at sixty per cent, over register ; 4th, 
total amount of freight moneys paid in each year : 



CALIFORNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, ETC. 



267 



Where from. 


No. of 
Vessels. 


Registered 
Tonnage. 


Tons of 
Cargo. 


Amount of 
Freight paid. 


1856: New York 


79 
37 

7 


103,532 

42,200 

5,602 


165,652 

64,320 

8,963 


$2,167,045 
924,957 
144,867 


Boston 


Other ports 


Total for 1856 

1857: New York 


123 

61 

28 

1 


151,334 

74,402 

33,802 

1,219 


238,935 

119,043 

54,083 

1,950 


$3,236,869 

$1,309,244 

469,798 

22,390 


Boston 


Philadelphia 


Total for 1857 

1858: NewY^ork 


90 

66 

34 

5 


109,423 

77,882 

32.166 

4,345 


175,076 

124,611 

51,370 

6,952 


$1,801,432 

$1,503,955 

607,329 

68,919 


Boston 


Other ports 


Total for 1858 

1859: New York 


105 

90 
43 

8 


114,393 

107,276 

44,799 

5,001 


182,933 

171,641 

71,678 

8,002 


$2,180,203 

$2,107,924 

892,704 

92,582 


Boston 


Other ports 


Total for 1859 

1860: New York 


141 

76 

30 

9 


157,076 

93,240 

30,661 

6,341 


251,321 

149,184 

49,057 
10,145 


$3,093,210 

$1,777,802 

624,396 

82,988 




Other ports 

Total for 1860 


115 | 130,242 


208,386 


$2,485,186 



The bulk of the imports of California come from the 
United States in sailing vessels via Cape Horn, but large 
quantities of light goods and provisions are sent via the 
Isthmus of Panama. The total value of shipments per 
steamers, and via the Panama Eailroad, in 1860, according 
to Custom-house records, was but little short of eight mil- 
lions of dollars. 

The following figures exhibit the passenger movement 
of the port of San Francisco since 1856 : 



Arrivals. 


1S5T. 


1S5S. 


1859. 


1S60. 


From Panama 


17.637 
6,963 




26,907 
11,276 


20.092 
10^619 


" other countries 


40,739 


Total arrivals.... 


24,600 


40,739 


38,183 


30,711 


Departures. 


12,367 

4,584 


27,994 


19,030 
5,751 


10,084 
4,492 


For Panama 


" other countries 


Total departures 




16,951 


27,994 


24,781 


14,576 



2.6$ CALIFORNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, ETC. 

On the 5th of March, 1860, the rates of fare were re- 
duced, and a tri-monthly communication via Panama was 
established, instead of the previous semi-monthly trips, 
which accounts for the great increase of the inward passen- 
ger traffic for the year 1860. 



OREGON, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, VANCOU- 
VER ISLAND, AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. 

The commerce of this region, which is almost entirely 
carried on through the port of San Francisco, California, is 
yet in its infancy. Oregon, with an area of about 80,000 
square miles, and possessing on its Pacific coast broad and 
fertile valley-lands, rich in agricultural resources, has as 
yet but about 50,000 inhabitants ; the tide of emigration 
from the Western United States is, however, going on with 
vigor, and the time is probably not far distant when its 
population will be sufficient to develop an important ex- 
porting trade. Already large quantities of grain, lumber, 
etc., are exported to California. Cattle, fresh and dried 
fruits, salmon, eggs, butter, lard, hams, etc., are also be- 
coming noticeable articles of export. Deposits of coal, 
iron, copper, and gold have been found in Oregon. Wash- 
ington Territory, joining Oregon on the north, has an area 
of 113,821 square miles. Its white population in 1854 was 
only about 5000. Since that time it has been slowly but 
steadily increasing. It possesses much land well adapted 
to agriculture and grazing. It abounds with fine timber, 
and its rivers with excellent fish, which at present form its 
chief exports. Joining it on the north, at the parallel of 
49°, is British Columbia, covering an area of about 200,000 
square miles. This is also a country of great agricultural 
promise, and possesses a vast wealth in its salmon fisheries, 
its forests of fine timber, and its rich deposits of coal and 
gold ; the latter, mined from the vicinity of Frazer River, 



269 

has been exported to a considerable extent since its discov- 
ery in 1856. 

SEA-PORTS. 

The sea-ports of Oregon, Washington Territory, and the 
British possessions which have direct communication with 
San Francisco by the California and Oregon Line of Steam- 
ships are as follows, viz. : in Oregon, 

Eureka, the most southern port of entry in Oregon, dis- 
tant 238 miles northeast from San Francisco, is situated in 
Humboldt Bay, a deep and narrow indentation of the coast, 
with a dangerous shifting sand-bar at its entrance. The 
town of Eureka is about four miles to the north side of the 
entrance of the bay. There is a United States government 
fortification here, and an Indian reservation in the vicinity. 
It is a thriving town, and has a large lumber-trade with 
San Francisco. 

Trinidad, 28 miles north from Eureka, is situated in a 
small bay protected only from the northeast winds. The 
town contains but few inhabitants. The chief export is 
lumber. The land in this vicinity is rich, and well adapt- 
ed to agriculture. There is gold in the neighborhood. 

Crescent City, 43 miles northward from Trinidad, on Cres- 
cent City Bay, is one of the most dangerous roadsteads on 
the whole coast. The town of Crescent City is the depot 
for the supplies of miners working the gold diggings on 
the Kalmath, Trinity, and Salmon Eivers, in the interior ; 
it is also the centre of a large and rich agricultural district. 
It contains about 1500 inhabitants. 

Port Oxford, 70 miles from Crescent City, is a good road- 
stead. A large lumber-trade is carried on here. A much- 
esteemed variety of the white cedar abounds in this vicin- 
ity, and is exported in considerable quantities under the 
name of the Port Orford cedar. 

Gardiner City, 75 miles to the northward from Port Or- 
ford, is on the Umpqua Kiver, five miles from its mouth. 



270 CALIFORNIA, OREGON, VANCOUVER, ETC. 

A United States custom-house is located here, besides 
which there is only a small wharf and one house. A 
steam-boat runs from Grardiner City to Scottsburg, a town 
of 1000 inhabitants, fifteen miles farther up the river. 

Astoria, 83 miles from Grardiner City, is the most north- 
ern port of Oregon. It is situated on the Columbia Eiver 
(which separates Oregon from Washington Territory), nine 
miles from its mouth. The river at Astoria is between 
three and four miles in width. Population of Astoria 800. 
There is a dangerous bar at the mouth of the Columbia 
Eiver which interferes greatly with its commercial growth. 

Portland, the chief sea-port and chief town of Oregon, 
is situated on the Willamette Eiver, a branch of the Co- 
lumbia, 100 miles from Astoria. Population 2700. It is 
the centre of a rich and well-cultivated agricultural region. 
Large numbers of cattle are exported from Portland to 
Vancouver's Island. About forty miles south of Portland, 
on the Willamette, is Salem, the capital of Oregon. Pop- 
ulation 1500. 

The next port of entry northward is JEsquimault, on the 
British island of Vancouver, 270 miles from Portland. 
Here is said to be one of the finest harbors on the Pacific 
coast. The neighboring country is very fertile. The fish- 
eries in this section are extensive. Lumber is of excellent 
quality and abundant. There is a British naval station at 
Esquimault, and it is the rendezvous for the small steam- 
ers running on Frazer Eiver. 

Port Townsend, 35 miles from Esquimault, the most 
southern port of entry in Washington Territory, is favor- 
ably situated at the termination of the Straits of Fuca, at 
the outlet of the waters of Admiralty Inlet, Puget's Sound. 
The town contains about 500 inhabitants. A military post 
has been established two and a half miles from this place. 
In the vicinity of the town are some good farms. The 
principal export is lumber. 



BUSINESS BY EXPKESS, ETC. 271 

Olympia, 80 miles from Port Townsend, is situated at 
the head of a deep inlet six miles long by three quarters 
of a mile wide. It is a thriving town, and the capital of 
Washington Territory. Its principal business is in agri- 
cultural products and lumber. The total distance made by 
the vessels of the California and Oregon Steam-ship Com- 
pany on their route from San Francisco to Olympia, the 
northern terminus of the route, is 1022 miles. 

For rates of freight, passage, etc., see Appendix D, page 
150. 



BUSINESS BY EXPRESS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES, 
EUROPE, AND THE PACIFIC COASTS. 

The " Express System," which had long been an indis- 
pensable necessity in the Atlantic United States, became, 
on the discovery of gold in California, an equally valuable 
medium of transportation between the Atlantic and Pacific 
coasts. Prompt, reliable, and responsible, the Express 
Company occupies the middle ground between the ship- 
per and the Steam-ship and Eailroad Companies. Issuing 
" through receipts," and giving its careful personal super- 
vision to the business, insure to their customers the most 
speedy delivery of their consignments, and, in case of loss 
or damage, prompt and liberal adjustment. 

The express of Wells, Fargo, and Company is now, and 
has for several years been engaged in the Atlantic and Pa- 
cific express business, making the transit across the Isth- 
mus of Panama, via the Panama Eailroad, and giving no 
inconsiderable contribution to its business. This Company 
forwards an express by each steamer (on the 1st, 11th, and 
21st of the month), and provides on the Isthmus for the 
prompt transmission of their consignments so as to go for- 
ward by connecting steamers. The charges upon small 



272 BUSINESS BY EXPRESS, ETC. 

packages vary according to size and value. Upon bullion 
and gold dust the freight and insurance from San Francisco 
to New York is at present three per cent. Upon merchan- 
dise they charge a small percentage advance upon steamer 
rates, for which they give to the shipper the convenience 
of collecting his property at his place of business, attending 
to the Custom-house requirements, prepaying freight, and 
delivering in good order at the door of the consignee at 
San Francisco. 

A prominent feature in their express business is the 
"Collection and General Agency" department:* collecting 
and paying over money, attending to the execution and de- 
livery of valuable papers and documents, receiving and 
transmitting property subject to charges to be paid on ar- 
rival at destination, called in express vocabulary C. 0. D. 
(collect on delivery), and, in fine, executing almost every 
conceivable commission. 

The house of Wells, Fargo, and Company has been en- 
gaged in this business for the past eight years. They are 
a joint-stock association, organized under the laws of the 
State of New York, with a capital of $1,000,000, having 
their principal office in the city of New York. They have 
also the only express to ports on the North Pacific Coast, 
Oregon, Yancouver's Island, and British Columbia, and 
now contemplate establishing agencies on the South Pa- 
cific Coast. 

They also have the sole express in the interior of Cali- 
fornia, transporting from the mines to San Francisco an 
average of $60,000,000 in value of gold dust and silver ore 
per annum. They have over 100 offices in California, and 
sell exchange upon all the principal cities and towns in the 
United States and Canada, and on the principal cities of 
Great Britain and the Continent. They also have an agen- 
cy at Honolulu, Sandwich Islands. 

This Company is the agent and general consignee at As- 



273 

pinwall, New Granada, for all shipments for San Francisco, 
Vancouver, etc., by the Koyal Mail Steam Packet Com- 
pany, running steamers semi-monthly between Havre, and 
Southampton, and Aspinwall, via St. Thomas. They re- 
ceive at that point all the goods and merchandise brought 
by that line from Europe and the West Indies destined for 
all points north of Panama on the Pacific Coast, and also 
for the Sandwich Islands. The present rates from Havre 
and Southampton to Aspinwall are £6 per ton, and 5 per 
cent, primage, and from Aspinwall to San Francisco $80 
per ton and 5 per cent, primage. To Victoria and northern 
ports on the Pacific, $20 per ton extra. 

The present rates by express from New York to Aspin- 
wall are $1 per cubic foot ; from New York to Panama, $1 
50 per cubic foot ; from New York to San Francisco, $5 
per cubic foot, or 25 cents per pound ; from San Francisco 
to Victoria and other northern ports, $20 to $30 per ton. 

The above rates to San Francisco are for "fast freight," 
or that which goes through by connecting steamer. For 
" slow freight" from New York to San Francisco, and going 
forward from Panama by next succeeding steamer, $2 per 
cubic foot, or 12-J- cents per pound only is charged. 

The principal offices and agencies of Wells, Fargo, and 
Company are, at New York, 84 Broadway ; at Boston, 39 
and 40. Court Square ; at Philadelphia, corner of Fourth 
and Chestnut Streets ; at Havre, France, Davidson and Co., 
Agents ; at London, England, Eives and Macey, Agents ; 
at Havana, Cuba, E. Eamirez and Co., Agents ; at Aspin- 
wall, New Granada, Panama Eailroad Company, Agents ; 
at Panama, N. G., Panama Eailroad Company, Agents ; at 
San Francisco, Cal., corner of California and Montgomery 
Streets, Louis M'Lane, Agent ; and at Honolulu, Sandwich 
Islands, at which offices all information in detail will be 
cheerfully given. 

M2 



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